Take a look back at some of the biggest stories reported in the Illawarra Mercury.

Inmate Mathew Lothian Tyerman, 37, managed to disarm a corrective services officer while he was being transferred from Nowra jail to a medical appointment in the Wollongong CBD on January 6.

With his wrists handcuffed in front of him, he fired three shots into a truck and a passing police car before retreating to the back of the Piccadilly Centre and turning the weapon on himself. Read more.

Three men died after being swept into the sea off Port Kembla in January.

Police were told by witnesses a group of men were standing on a treacherous rock platform near Hill 60 when a large wave hit them about 10pm, knocking them into the surf and prompting a major emergency response.

The bodies of three men were recovered from the water a short time later.

Three weeks later, another two men died after being swept off rocks at the same location. Read more.

Twin brothers who operate a luxury home building company in the Illawarra were charged over an alleged multimillion dollar development scam in February.

Elie and Charbel Douna were arrested in sweeping raids, along with Illawarra real estate agent Ben Feltham, after police uncovered what they allege to be a "large-scale" fraud plot.

Police allege the 33-year-old siblings, who operate LuxLiving Homes in Albion Park Rail, were using falsified documents in an alleged attempt to obtain a $14.7 million loan to construct homes for their development, Avoca Park, in Avondale. Their case remains before the court. Read more.

A car that crashed at "breakneck speed" in residential Wollongong sparked an urgent rescue operation in March.

A silver Corolla had a 30-year-old male driver at the wheel when it failed to negotiate a T-intersection and smashed hard into the side of a Camry parked on Bank Street.

Both cars appeared to somersault into a three-storey unit block, including the ground-floor unit where IT worker Philipp Mendelson was standing at his kitchen counter, looking out the window and eating a sandwich. Read more.

The driver killed in a horror crash on the motorway in March was identified as Albion Park grandmother Angela Darragh, who was remembered as a loving mother and avid car enthusiast.

Ms Darragh, 47, was killed when her blue Holden Statesman collided with a Nissan Juke, both travelling south along the M1 Princes Motorway at Figtree.

Her car hit a median strip then a tree near the Master Road off-ramp. Read more.

Joshua Dendulk was sentenced to six months' behind bars over a dramatic siege that shut down a Bellambi neighbourhood for four hours earlier this year.

The highly-agitated man led a standoff from a Robert Cram Drive property on June 1, at one point scaling a second-storey balcony during the incident.

He repeatedly injured himself before he was wrestled into custody in front of a large crowd of police and neighbourhood spectators. Read more.

A boating tragedy off Bellambi left five children without fathers and two families struggling to come to terms with the unthinkable.

Philippines national Richard Allan Cosme better known as Allan, and East Corrimal father and son Ronnie and Shane Jores were killed in July.

The men departed Bellambi boat ramp to go fishing at 2pm, after telling relatives they would return by 2am. Family raised the alarm when they had not returned at 6am. Read more.

Berkeley man Allan Martin Simpson, 47, is facing numerous charges over October's train derailment at Kembla Grange which left four people injured.

The commuter train slammed into a van that had been abandoned on the tracks before dawn, causing the front carriage to shear off the tracks and land in a nearby paddock, the remainder of the train rolling onto its side.

The 13 occupants of the train were freed, with four people taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Read more.

When Ashy Rauicava jumped in the back of a silver car to head home after a night out at Hotel Illawarra, she had no idea her driver was only allegedly pretending to be her Uber ride.

Ms Rauicava said the man pulled up to the footpath and she thought it was the ride her friend had booked. The driver allegedly agreed he was there for her.

She thought it was strange when the man allegedly said his Uber maps weren't working and asked her to get into the front seat because he couldn't hear her properly.

Kais Dahdal has been charged in connection to the alleged incident and his case remains before the court. Read more.

Simon Fleming has been refused bail after he allegedly fired bullets into a house and street before he took two people hostage during a Windang siege situation in November.

Police were told a man - armed with two firearms - had fired a number of shots at passing vehicles and pedestrians, before barricading himself inside nearby Windang Dive & Spearfishing with the owner and another man.

They were allegedly held inside the premises by Fleming, before being released safely and without injury. He was arrested and his case remains before the court. Read more.

A Wollongong teenager who was killed when his motorbike collided with a car in Mt Warrigal in December was only days away from turning 18.

Adrian Voltz's family had to spend Christmas without him, mourning his death rather than celebrating his birthday on Boxing Day.

He was remembered as a young man who loved motorbikes, his family and friends.

Adrian's mother, Andrea Ganitis spent Adrian's birthday without him and went to the scene of his death with loved ones. She is still trying make sense of what happened to her "baby boy". Read more.

Dozens of emergency service personnel, many from surf life saving clubs, all played an essential role when they rescued seven men from the overturned vessel at Waniora Point, Bulli, in November.

Whether that was pulling the men into an inflatable rescue boat, performing CPR, ferrying equipment, co-ordinating first responders or supporting the survivors - each person helped saved lives that day.

One 37-year-old man from Bankstown tragically could not be resuscitated and three others were taken to hospitals in critical conditions.

Sebastian James pulled four unconscious men out from under the capsized boat during one of the biggest boating rescues the region has experienced. Read more.

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