Two people are in custody and a man remains on the run amid a large-scale police investigation into the armed carjacking of a young woman at Gerringong.
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A man and a woman were arrested in dramatic scenes after a stolen car, in which they were trying to evade police, crashed into three other vehicles at Albion Park Rail on Tuesday morning.
Police said the duo's vehicle had earlier rammed a police car and a member of the public's vehicle, before causing carnage at the intersection of the Princes Highway and Creamery Road.
The arrests came as police were hunting for two men who stole a woman's car at knifepoint in Gerringong on Monday.
Police said the 18-year-old parked her blue Mitsubishi in Standen Lane, alongside the IGA supermarket, at 4.45pm.
When she returned to her car, she was approached by two men who asked for a lift to the train station. She obliged.
One of the men later pulled out a large knife and told her to get out of the car. She did and the pair took off.
The vehicle was involved in a brief pursuit southbound on the Princes Highway at Nowra about 5.35pm on Monday. It was reportedly seen again about 15 minutes later, heading north on the highway at Bomaderry.
About 8am on Tuesday, police spotted the Mitsubishi travelling north on Princes Highway at Broughton, north of Berry.
Police did not engage in a pursuit. The car collided with another vehicle as it continued travelling along the highway.
Inspector Paul Allman, from Lake Illawarra police, said the Mitsubishi was later found abandoned on Austral Park Road at Berry.
"The offenders have then stolen another vehicle at that location," Insp Allman said.
"We started a police operation in the area between Berry and Lake Illawarra."
Police spotted the most-recently-stolen vehicle, a silver Kia, and tracked its movements with the assistance of Polair.
Insp Allman said officers made a "tactical decision" not to engage in a pursuit with the vehicle, due to a number of safety concerns.
"The vehicle came to a stop at the intersection of the Illawarra Highway and the M1 Motorway at Albion Park [Rail] in quite heavy traffic and that's when a number of police approached the vehicle," he said.
"It was at this stage the driver mounted the kerb after ramming a member of the public's vehicle. He then rammed our vehicle and our police sustained minor injuries."
The car continued south on the Princes Highway through Albion Park Rail, where it crashed into three vehicles at the intersection of Creamery Road.
The occupants ran from the stolen car.
"We had a number of police in the area by that stage and we were able to make an arrest of a female from the vehicle and then a short foot pursuit of the male driver commenced," Insp Allman said.
The driver was arrested in a nearby yard and has been taken to hospital for mandatory drug and alcohol testing.
Both the woman, 28, and man, 24, are in custody at Lake Illawarra police station, where they are assisting with inquiries.
Charges are expected to be laid on Tuesday afternoon.
No one was seriously injured in either of the crashes. One of the two police officers in the damaged car sustained minor cuts and abrasions to his hands.
Monday's carjacking involved two men and Insp Allman confirmed one them remained at large.
A manhunt across two police districts was now under way to track him down, he said.
"We are circulating [details of] the second offender from yesterday's [Monday's] offence," he said.
"We're just regathering our troops and we'll be back out there looking for that person this afternoon."
No details about the man, or a description of him, has been provided by police at this stage.
However, Insp Allman said the man at large was believed to be somewhere in the Lake Illawarra or Far South Coast police districts.
Anyone who might have seen the incident at Albion Park Rail, or captured it on dashcam, has been urged to contact Lake Illawarra police on 4232 5599 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
"If anyone from the public knows the whereabouts, or has some intimate knowledge of where this second offender is, we'd love to hear from you," Insp Allman said.