Gold Coast crime: Police vehicles pelted with rocks, bottles and fireworks at hoon meet

Police vehicles have been pelted with rocks, bottles and fireworks – also aimed at a helicopter – at an out-of-control and “outrageous” Gold Coast hoon meet. SEE THE IMAGES AND VIDEO

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POLICE vehicles have been pelted with rocks, bottles and fireworks – also aimed at a helicopter – at an out-of-control and “outrageous” Gold Coast hoon meet.

Police – out in force across the northern Gold Coast targeting hooning – attended a “gathering of approximately 600 vehicles and 1000 people” in a Pimpama business car park at 10pm Saturday.

A teen on a stretcher with emergency services at the scene of a Molendinar crash. Picture: LLN Australia

Gold Coast police Acting Chief Superintendent Geoff Sheldon said the crowds were larger than expected and when police confronted the motorists “it then turned ugly”.

“Three of our vehicles were pelted with bottles and stones, and believe it or not, fireworks. There was fireworks shot at police cars and also at our police helicopter before events moved on,” he said.

“This wasn’t a bunch of like-minded individual car enthusiasts. These people were throwing rocks and bottles at police, firing fireworks at helicopters and just out committing criminal offences. That’s the difference.”

Police and emergency services treating a teen at the scene of a Molendinar crash. Picture: LLN Australia

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According to police, the vehicles dispersed with many re-forming in the industrial area at Molendinar where an unmarked police vehicle was damaged when more objects were thrown.

Just after midnight, emergency services were called to reports a car, believed to have been linked to the meet, had smashed into a tree at Molendinar.

The driver, a 17-year-old male, was transported to Gold Coast University Hospital with serious injuries. Two passengers, 18, and 15, were treated for minor injuries.

Police at the scene on Saturday night. Picture: LLN Australia

A woman claiming to be the mother of a passenger in the vehicle took to Facebook pleading for information about the crash.

“My son was a passenger in one of the cars that was hooning/racing around Molendinar & Smith St last night,” the woman wrote.

“The driver decided to speed off trying to avoid the police chopper, and well, they crashed.

“They must have been going at a significant speed because the engine ended up between the 2 front car seats. My son, thankfully, is OK.”

A member of the media was also allegedly assaulted near a Coomera shopping centre.

Chief Supt Sheldon said police investigations were ongoing, with officers reviewing CCTV, police body worn and dashcam footage, as well as Polair vision.

He issued a stern warning to motorists to expect a ticket if attending such gatherings.

Chief Supt Sheldon said the behaviour was disappointing particularly as it occurred during the Easter road safety campaign.

“This behaviour is outrageous, clearly dangerous and will not be tolerated on our streets and in our suburbs. We are determined to locate as many vehicles and people involved in these overnight disturbances and dangerous driving incidents and they can expect to feel the full force of the law,” he said.

More than 20 fines were issued as part of the traffic operation and investigations are ongoing.

No police officers were injured.

Hooning and dangerous driving has been a long-running issue in the city’s northernmost suburbs for more than a decade.

Norwell Valley and Jacobs Well were targeted by Brisbane-based hoons through the mid-2010s in defiance of the then-Newman Government’s tough anti-hooning laws which were introduced in 2014.

In 2016 sites on the edge of the canfields became popular hooning locations, where flaming cars and “tonnes” of rubbish were left behind on a weekly basis, while explosives were also experimented with.

Calls for a ratepayer funded “burnout” and “drifting pad” to keep hoons off the roads were shut down by Pimpama councillor Mark Hammel earlier this year.

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Originally published as Gold Coast crime: Police vehicles pelted with rocks, bottles and fireworks at hoon meet