A 37-year-old Warrnambool man who rode a motorbike into a crash scene, causing a helicopter to abort an emergency landing, has been charged with serious driving offences and drug trafficking.
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Warrnambool police Acting Sergeant Jimmy Beaumont said police set up a traffic management site on the Wangoom-Warrnambool Road about 11am on Friday and soon after the motorcyclist rode around an officer and into the crash scene.
A woman suffered serious injuries in a single-vehicle accident about 10.30am when she lost control and collided with a tree.
"About 11.10am the man has ridden a motorbike around the traffic management point and entered the scene as the HEMS4 (helicopter) was preparing to land," he said.
"The helicopter had to abort its landing attempt before coming back in and landing.
"The motorcycle rider was arrested near the accident scene. He was searched and found with drugs and drug paraphernalia."
Acting Sergeant Beaumont said the man was taken back to the Warrnambool police station where he was interviewed, charged and remanded in custody.
It's understood he was already on bail for other alleged offences.
He is now on new serious driving charges and accused of drug trafficking.
Constable Luke Molan said a 26-year-old woman from Ecklin South, the driver of the crashed vehicle, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including injuries to a leg.
She was admitted to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne in a serious condition.
Constable Molan said the woman failed to take the bend and ran off the road after proceeding straight through the curve.
He said the motorbike rider had been charged with offences including failing to obey a police direction, unlicensed riding as he had never held a licence and displaying false number plates.
The VIN number on the motorbike had also been ground off.
Constable Molan said a black case found by police contained empty deal bags as well as three grams of a white crystal substance suspected to be methamphetamine and one gram of cannabis.
"We don't know if he thought the roadblock was for him and just rode around it but he would have realised something was going on when he was confronted by a large number of CFA volunteers and a number of police officers," he said.
"The keys were taken out of the motorbike and the rider was arrested."
The man appeared briefly in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Monday, did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody until June 25 for a mention hearing.
Lawyer Belinda Northey said the man was legally blind and withdrawing from drugs.
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