A man has been arrested and charged after allegedly stealing a four-wheel drive and taking it through parks and bushland to avoid being caught by police in Sydney’s south-west last night.
Between 7pm and 10pm a white Toyota Landcruiser four-wheel drive was stolen from outside a home in Railway Parade, Glenfield.
About 10:30pm, the vehicle was sighted by police in Mannix Parade at Warwick Farm.
Police will allege that the man had been involved in several recent pursuits in the area.
Highway Patrol officers followed the four-wheel drive for a short time before the driver attempted to reverse into the police vehicle near the intersection of the Hume Highway and Goulburn Street.
It will be alleged the vehicle then crossed the median strip of the highway before the driver led police on a pursuit across south western Sydney and through a number of parks, reserves and bushland.
Police will allege during the pursuit the man drove through a number of red traffic lights and through a park on Wonga Road, Warwick Farm, smashing through boulders in effort to get back onto the road.
The pursuit continued through to the suburb of Prestons where the four-wheel drive smashed through a pine log fence on Kookaburra Road into a reserve later rejoining the road.
While on the Camden Valley Way the four-wheel drive travelled onto a dirt road near St Andrews Road, Denham Court and smashed through a metal fence at the end of the road into bushland before ploughing through the rear yards of a number of rural properties.
Police continued to monitor the pursuit through the use of highway patrol vehicles, polair and the dog squad when the driver travelled onto the wrong side of the road on the Hume Highway near Raby.
It will be alleged the man travelled south in the northbound lanes of the highway for approximately 2km’s before entering a football reserve in an attempt to hide from police.
Later the vehicle travelled along Dobell Road before mounting an embankment and crashing through a fence to re-enter the Hume Highway.
The four-wheel drive travelled north on the highway before taking the Ingleburn exit and entering the industrial area and travelling along a water course.
The man fled the vehicle after getting stuck between a fence and some blue metal before entering the yard of a home in Bainbridge Avenue, Ingleburn.
He was confronted by police in the yard of the home before breaking a window of the premises and entering the house where he was arrested by police with the assistance of a police dog.
The 36-year-old Austral man was taken to Liverpool Police Station where he was charged with 21 offences including drive whilst disqualified x 4, drive in a manner dangerous x 3, use vehicle to avoid apprehension and furious driving.
He has been refused bail and will appear today at the Liverpool Local Court.
Police inquiries continue into the matter and further charges are likely. It will be alleged that the man was already disqualified from holding a drivers licence until 2033.
