SIX teenagers, including two drivers aged just 15 and 16, were at the centre of high-speed police pursuits across the north yesterday that reached speeds of up to 160km/h and involved at least 10 police cars.
The two police chases covered more than 170 kilometres between them on the New England and Oxley highways, leading police on dramatic pursuits that each lasted a bit more than an hour and at times reached speeds of up to 160km/h.
One pursuit started about 11am and centred on Tamworth and the district, while the other occurred 150km away at Guyra at 9.15am.
The Tamworth pursuit began 25km south of the city, when a white Toyota HiLux ute with Victorian number plates was clocked by police speeding on the New England Highway at 11am.
Police took off after the vehicle after it failed to stop.
The car overtook several vehicles but otherwise remained on its side of the road as it reached 160km/h at one stage of the chase.
During the pursuit, it was confirmed the car was a stolen vehicle from Victoria.
Police considered using road spikes to try and stop it. But the pursuit was terminated by police about 20 minutes later for public safety reasons.
They lost sight of the vehicle around the outskirts of Tamworth. At one stage, police believed the car had travelled on one of the connecting rural laneways along the highway, including Kia Ora, Whitehouse and Burgmanns lanes, trying to find a detour around the city.
The car was spotted near Robert St and was last seen heading towards Manilla.
An accident in Manilla at the intersection of Market and Rowan streets in the centre of the town alerted police to the suspect car’s presence.
The driver’s two female passengers, aged 15 and 17, from Victoria, were left at the accident site after they suffered minor injuries when the tray-top ute apparently ran into a truck.
The girls were taken to Manilla Hospital in police custody.
Soon after, another vehicle was stolen from a Manilla yard – a white Holden Commodore – and the chase continued.
Police say the pursuit ended just north of Manilla when the 16-year-old Victorian driver discarded his vehicle after it apparently blew a front tyre and the teenager tried to escape on foot.
Police caught the youth soon after, charging him with a number of offences, including Skye’s law (leading police in a dangerous pursuit), numerous traffic charges and stealing two motor vehicles.
Oxley Local Area Command duty officer Inspector Fred Trench said the police pursuit was short, but the youth had driven more than 100km by the time police caught up with him at Manilla.
Inspector Trench said the two female passengers were assisting police with their investigations and the male driver would attend court at a later date.
Meanwhile, police were led on another pursuit
on the upper new England Highway yesterday when three Queensland teenagers – two boys and a girl – covered more than 100km in a Toyota Echo sedan.
About 9.15am, they attended a Deep Water service station and failed to pay for $40 worth of fuel.
Glen Innes police tried to stop the vehicle about 9.45am and it failed to pull over, continuing south on the New England Highway at speeds estimated to be up to 150km/h.
Police tried to stop the car by using road spikes, north of Guyra, but the car crossed to the other side of the road and raced off. The pursuit continued through Guyra.
Finally, on the town’s outskirts, the vehicle was stopped and three young people were apprehended by police and charged.
The driver, a 15-year-old male, was charged with offences including property stolen out of NSW – the car was allegedly stolen from his mother in Queensland – dangerous and unlicensed driving, and failing to pay for fuel.
He was refused bail and will appear in Armidale Local Court today.
A 16-year-old male passenger was charged with other offences, including the illegal use of a motor vehicle, and was also refused bail and will appear in Armidale Local Court today.
Another passenger, a 16-year-old female, was dealt with under the Young Offenders Act for being in possession of a stolen vehicle.
Police said at least five vehicles, as well as blocking vehicles attending the road spikes attempt, had been involved in the pursuit.
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