A Sydney P-plater who led police on a dangerous, high-speed chase all the way from Gerringong to Sutherland in an unregistered Holden Commodore has been sentenced to a flat two years behind bars.
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Magistrate Michael Stoddart said he was amazed Blake Jeffrey Trindall’s erratic driving in the early hours of June 10 didn’t claim the lives of himself, his female passenger and other motorists on the road.
“This is about as bad as it gets,” he said, in refusing to set a non-parole period.
“You were very lucky to still be alive and you didn’t kill someone.”
Court documents said Trindall reached speeds of about 190km/hr between Gerringong and Mount Ousley, before exceeding 200km/hr on average along the Princes Highway.
It took him just 37 minutes to travel the 99km between Gerringong and Sutherland, where his car eventually suffered catastrophic engine failure and ground to a halt.
The court heard Lake Illawarra highway patrol officers were conducting stationary speed checks on the highway at 1.43am when they clocked Trindall’s 2006 Commodore sedan travelling at 151km/hr in the 100km/hr zone.
As soon as ofifcers attempted to catch the vehicle, Trindall accelerated away, rounding the Kiama bends at about 130km/hr before increasing his speed to 180km/hr underneath the Saddleback Mountain Road underpass at Kiama.
He also repeatedly switched his headlights on and off during the journey.
Officers deployed road spikes near Shellharbour but Trindall managed to avoid them. The chase was called off at Oak Flats, however it was recommenced by Wollongong highway patrol officers at Figtree.
Trindall repeatedly flicked his lights off then back on again as he drove up Mount Ousley at 195km/hr, before hitting 210km/hr as he flew down ‘the Dipper’ at Cataract Creek.
The court heard Trindall’s average speed of 203km/hr between Bulli Tops and Waterfall meant he covered the 21.4km distance in six minutes and 19 seconds.
Sutherland police successfully deployed road spikes at Waterfall, marking the start of the Commodore’s rapid deterioration. Officers said debris, sparks and smoke were seen coming from the car’s undercarriage as Trindall repeatedly changed direction in an attempt to escape from police.
His vehicle eventually came to a stop on a suburban road in Kirrawee. Trindall was forcibly removed from the car and arrested.
He was charged with dangerous driving, to which he pleaded guilty in Wollongong court on Tuesday.
As part of his sentence, Trindall has been banned from holding a driver’s licence for at least five years.
