An ill-timed burnout in front of a police car at Shoalhaven Heads set off a pursuit of more than 45 kilometres to the southern Illawarra on Saturday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Road spikes at Kiama were not enough to stop the 34-year-old driver who was was finally foiled by traffic in Albion Park.
There, police allege he threatened them with a knife and hit one officer in the face, before being arrested and blowing a breath test of almost three times the legal alcohol limit.
The man was refused bail in Wollongong Local Court on Sunday, after being charged with a litany of offences relating to the daylight pursuit.
It began about 3pm on Saturday, police allege, when officers saw the man do a burnout in a Ford Fairlane in front of their police car.
They activated lights and sirens in an attempt to pull the man over, and a pursuit was called after the car failed to stop.
Police followed the Ford through to Gerringong and on to the Princes Highway towards Kiama, where road spikes were deployed in an attempt to stop the car.
However, police said the man continued to drive “despite significant tyre damage”, before being stopped in traffic in Albion Park Rail.
There, police ordered the man from the car.
They alleged he threatened officers with a knife, before placing it on top of the vehicle.
He was then placed under arrest, allegedly resisting police and striking an officer in the face. The officer suffered minor bruising.
The man underwent a breath test which returned a positive result, and a later breath analysis showed a blood alcohol reading of 0.136.
He was charged for leading a police pursuit, driving dangerously, doing an “aggravated burnout”, using an offensive weapon to avoid apprehension, assaulting police, resisting arrest, driving with a mid-range alcohol reading, unaccompanied driver and stealing.
He will reappear at Wollongong court on Monday.