A MAN has been charged with drink driving and getting behind the wheel on a suspended licence after a ute collided with a police car near Gunnedah.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 23-year-old Gunnedah man has been ordered to front court on three charges stemming from the incident which occurred on the Kamilaroi Highway, south of town on Saturday night.
Police said there were four people on board the Toyota Hilux at the time of the crash.
Officers said they tried to stop the Hilux in Gunnedah about 7.30pm in Rodney St after they claimed it was travelling well above the 50km per hour posted speed limit.
Police claim the vehicle accelerated away after it was signalled to pull over.
Police said they lost sight of the Hilux. They continued patrols of the town before hearing and sighting the same vehicle a short time later, this time as it headed away from town on the Kamilaroi Highway, towards Curlewis.
Two officers on board followed the vehicle before it accelerated away, travelling at speeds estimated to be more than 140km per hour in a 100 zone.
The police had activated their lights and sirens but the utility continued on, and when the driver allegedly swerved harshly to the wrong side of the road, officers backed off.
Police continued to follow the Hilux south. Officers said the vehicle slowed down and as they approached it noticed sparks flying from the back tyres.
Officers will allege the vehicle swerved to the wrong side of the highway, and lost control, and swerved back into the path of the police car.
Police said they tried to avoid the collision, but the out-of-control Hilux struck the front of the police van.
The Hilux came to rest in the middle of the road and the driver got out with his hands in the air.
The 23-year-old was arrested and taken to Gunnedah Police Station for a breath analysis where he allegedly recorded a blood alcohol reading in the low-range.
Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene as a precaution and investigations are continuing.
- An Oxley police spokesperson
Checks on the man’s licence also allegedly revealed he is suspended from driving.
None of the police or the passengers were injured in the crash.
The man is facing charges of low-range PCA, driving in a manner dangerous and driving with a suspended licence and has been ordered to front Gunnedah Local Court in June.
“Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene as a precaution and investigations are continuing,” an Oxley police spokesperson said.