A POLICE pursuit involving a stolen taxi has come to a dramatic end in front of stunned onlookers after a man attempted to carjack a four-wheel-drive.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The vehicle was stolen in Tarneit, near Melbourne, and driven almost 500 kilometres before it was stopped by police.
The wild ride came to an end about 120 kilometres north of Albury when two police officers tackled the 35-year-old driver to the ground on the side of the Hume Highway.
The incident had started early Saturday morning and the yellow taxi came to the attention of North East police officers about 7am as it travelled up the highway.
The vehicle had been varying in speed from about 80km/h to 180km/h as multiple police units attempted to pull the car over.
A new Victoria police policy bans officers from pursuing the vehicle. Officers had considered using road spikes but decided against it due to traffic volume.
The taxi came through Wodonga about 8am before entering Albury, where NSW officers began to pursue the car.
Adam Kaminski had been travelling to Canberra with his three-year-old daughter Hallie and his partner Tiona Wright when he noticed speeding police vehicles north of Albury.
He was later shocked to see the taxi speed past with two police cars trailing.
“It was amazing he didn’t kill anyone,” he said.
“The cops put out the spikes and all I saw was rubber and smoke.
“We thought we were going to see a major accident and that people would be dead.”
The taxi ended up on the wrong side of the highway with shredded tyres and the driver assaulted a man in a four-wheel-drive carrying a horse float, demanding he exit his vehicle.
The driver refused nd the man fled before being tackled by police.
Mr Kaminski's partner filmed the ordeal on a mobile phone.
He said he was concerned for the four-wheel-drive owner who appeared to be shaken after the incident.
The 35-year-old offender, whose Victorian driver's licence had expired, has been charged with two counts of police pursuit, assault with intent to take motor vehicle, receive property stolen outside NSW, and two other driving offences.
He was refused bail and will appear in Wagga court on Monday.
- See the video at bordermail.com.au
