Daniel Charles Edward Simpson pleads guilty in Toowoomba Magistrates Court to dangerous operation of a vehicle

Wanted on a warrant after breaching his parole orders, a 35-year-old fled as cops approached his car, forcing them to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.

A wanted man, Daniel Charles Edward Simpson looked up from his phone while in the driver’s seat of his vehicle to see two police officers approaching.

Rather than allow himself to go into custody, the 35-year-old decided to hit the accelerator, forcing the two officers to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit by the car.

In Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Friday, Simpson pleaded guilty to the October 8 incident.

Representing the father of two, Brad Skuse said his client had been at the time on bail in relation to other matters, on the condition that he lived on the Gold Coast.

The court was told while the Cunnamulla man was away from Toowoomba he had been abstaining from significant drug use and further criminal activity.

However, a death in the family saw Simpson return to his home town, which triggered a spiral back into old associates and unhealthy habits.

Daniel Charles Edward Simpson, 35, pleaded guilty in Toowoomba Magistrates Court to a raft of charges, including dangerous operation of a vehicle.

“He attended a funeral at Cunnamulla for that purpose and made his way back to Toowoomba,” Mr Skuse said.

“(Simpson) was dealing with the loss of that family member, he was back with old associates and unfortunately the temptation was far too great.”

Mr Skuse said his client was back using drugs “quite heavily” and while he was aware of a parole order in place he failed to comply with requirements which saw a warrant be issued for his arrest.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Jessica Lynch said on October 8 police located Simpson in Toowoomba sitting behind the wheel of a car.

After police parked their vehicle and approached Simpson’s car on foot, he then sped away after police opened the driver’s side door, “forcing the officers to take evasive action to avoid being hit”.

“In those circumstances had the officers not taken evasive action the outcome could have been disastrous,” Sergeant Lynch said.

In total, Simpson pleaded guilty to a raft of offences including dangerous operation of a vehicle, driving without a licence, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, possessing dangerous drugs, possessing tainted property and possessing property suspected of having been used in connection with a drug offence.

Magistrate Howard Osborne declared 127 days of pre-sentence custody as time served when convicting and sentencing Simpson, who was handed a 12 month prison sentence with a parole eligibility date of April 22, 2022.

He was disqualified from driving for three years.