A suspended Warracknabeal driver who tried to evade police has been arrested after a member of the public provided vital information to officers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A police Warrnambool highway patrol unit spokesman said that at about 10.20am on Thursday the suspended 25-year-old driver tried to flee from patrolling police.
Warrnambool officers were driving Aitkins Road looking for a reported drug driver, when they were overtaken by a 2009 blue Ford Falcon.
The spokesman said that once the Falcon went round the corner onto Hyland Street, that vehicle accelerated for no apparent reason.
"We attempted to intercept this car, but it drove away from us, reaching speeds of about 120km/h along Fitzroy Road," he said.
"Unfortunately, for the driver, most cars are fitted with registration plates, which make it quite easy for us to identify them."
The officer said after obtaining the number plate details police stopped following and alerted nearby members to the erratically driven Ford.
He said a few minutes later, a member of the public had to take evasive action to avoid the Falcon as it drove towards Killarney and that driver rang triple zero (000) to report what had happened.
Read more:
"Unfortunately for the Ford driver, he decided to turn up a dead-end road and parked because he was low on fuel," the police officer said.
"At that time he was being watched by this alert member of the public. A few minutes later, four police units converged on the stopped Ford and the driver was arrested without further incident.
"He was tested for drugs and was found to have ice in his oral fluid."
The driver was interviewed in relation to his manner of driving and is expected to be charged on summons with numerous offences, including reckless conduct endangering life, dangerous driving while being pursued by police, driving while suspended and possessing a prohibited weapon, being a wooden table leg that the driver kept next to his car seat.
"In his interview, after his arrest, the male stated he didn't know he was a suspended driver and didn't stop for police because 'he wasn't processing things very well'," he said.
The Ford was also impounded for 30 days at a cost of $1130.
The man was driving in the company of what one officer described as "the most beautiful Staffordshire puppy I have ever seen".
"The puppy was well fed and even a bit sleepy, despite the driving behaviour of it's owner," he said.
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.