Frankston North driver rammed cop car after tow truck chase
A Frankston North disqualified driver who answered a mate’s call for help didn’t expect to be on the end of a crazy tow truck chase.
South East
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A dodgy driver’s foolish idea to answer a police pursuit mate’s distress call has cost him his freedom.
Dylan Connelly was jailed for four months for ramming an unmarked cop car at the end of a wild tow-truck chase.
The Frankston North 28-year-old had driven his car to where the truck had ground to a halt to pick up a mate after he had rung him pleading for help.
His car was surrounded by officers, and as one of the alleged thieves tried to get into his back seat, he drove straight into a police vehicle.
No one was hurt and both cars suffered only minor damage.
At Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday he pleaded guilty to damaging an emergency services vehicle and driving while disqualified.
The court heard on September 26 this year Connelly’s friend called him and asked for help after he became embroiled in a police pursuit.
The mate was part of a group who had allegedly winched a BMW with stolen plates onto the back of a tow truck in Clyde.
The suspicious incident was seen by witnesses and cops were called.
Police tried to intercept the truck but the driver failed to stop, ran red lights and raced through the suburbs.
Officers deployed stop sticks and a short time later the truck came to a halt in Cranbourne West.
It was then a blue VW, driven by Connolly, arrived on the scene and stopped in front of the tow truck.
As a man tried to get into back seat of the VW yelling “go go go”, officers tried to pull him out.
Connelly drove forward a few metres and hit the unmarked police vehicle.
He was arrested, saying he was there to help out a pal.
“My mate tried to get into my car … I wasn’t looking in front of me … I didn’t mean to ram the police car, it was an accident and I just froze,” he said.
He has a horror rap sheet when it comes to traffic crimes, having been jailed three times in the past two years for driving offences.
Connelly’s lawyer said the concreter played no part in the pursuit, and was only there to assist a mate.
He said he didn’t intentionally ram the police vehicle and was looking over his shoulder at the man trying to get into the back seat when he drove forward.
He said Connelly accepted he shouldn’t have been driving, but panicked when his mate called and requested he be picked up.
Magistrate Julian Ayres said he has relevant priors for dangerous and disqualified driving that needed to be taken into account in sentencing.
“There was potential for significant catastrophe, but luckily that didn’t happen,” Mr Ayres said.
“It was very low speed, very minor damage.
“Thankfully it didn’t go beyond that.”
Connelly was jailed for four months, minus 67 days he has already served on remand, and disqualified from driving for two years.
