Faced with a police car in the middle of the road outside his home, after they were called by his ex-wife, a Beechworth man made what he called a "stupid" decision - he rammed straight into it with his own car.
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Prosecutors have now argued that a jail sentence should be the only outcome.
Saxon Willis, 30, appeared in the County Court on Wednesday to plead guilty to intentionally exposing an emergency worker to risk while driving, and reckless conduct endangering life.
Prosecutor Ryan Hartshorne said Willis had separated from his wife five weeks before the incident on March 10 this year.
When Willis first saw the police officer in the car outside his home, he got into his car and asked to be left alone.
He floored the accelerator of his Nissan Navara ute, spun the wheels and drove into the bull-bar of the police four-wheel-drive, causing it to move back 30 centimetres.
Willis then drove around the police car and out of Beechworth, getting into two more crashes.
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He T-boned a Toyota Prado when turning onto Buckland Gap Road at speed, then one or two kilometres later, he lost control and ended up on the wrong side of the road.
The car narrowly avoided a collision with another vehicle, but crashed into a guard rail. Willis fled into bushland, where he was later located and arrested by police.
Psychologist Dr Michael Davis said Willis had a "de-realisation" mental health episode and did not know what he was doing when he rammed the police car.
Mr Hartshorne argued for a jail sentence, while the defence wanted a community corrections order.
Judge Lacava said it was "very serious offending" and will sentence Willis next week.
"Being a police officer is one of the hardest jobs on the planet - having to go out, do their work, have someone drive a four-wheel-drive at them. I think I can infer that is a very frightening experience," he said.
"And an equally frightening experience for the driver of the other vehicle, who was doing nothing else but minding his own business driving along a highway, only to have a car come out onto the wrong side of the road and crash into him."
