Yass police chase reaches 173km/h

By Katharyn Brine | April 6, 2015 at 3:15 pm 0 Comments

Police car chase reaches 173km/h

A middle-aged driver tried to outrun a police pursuit that spanned 40 kilometres and reached speeds of up to 173km/h this morning.

A 47-year-old Sydney man was driving a gold Camry sedan when he was first spotted speeding on the Hume Highway at Gunning at about 9.50am.

He refused to stop his car for police.

During the pursuit the driver weaved through light Easter holiday traffic at high speed and twice, Yass Highway Patrol officers had to abandon the pursuit due to the wet conditions.

Police were ready to initiate road spikes when the driver pulled over near Bowning.

He had run out of petrol.

He secured himself inside the car and refused to come out. Police smashed his driver’s side window and arrested him.

He was charged with Skye’s Law, exceeding 45km/h over the speed limit and driving in a manner dangerous.

He will appear before Yass Local Court on May 5.

Bowning road accident

Two young children have been injured and transported to Canberra Hospital after a collision at Bowning turn-off this morning (pictured above).

Police said a ute towing a caravan attempted to turn right onto the Hume Highway towards Melbourne at about 11.30am when it collided with a grey Mazda sedan travelling north.

Two boys, aged nine and six, were seated in the rear of the sedan when they were injured. Their parents escaped injury. The family was from Wollongong.

An elderly couple driving the ute, from Wollongong, were also uninjured.

The Hume Highway was reduced to one lane and this caused significant major traffic delays for motorists travelling for the Easter holidays.

1.6kg cannabis seized at Murrumbateman

Yass Highway Patrol have seized 1.6 kilograms of cannabis (pictured below) after performing a routine random breath test in Murrumbateman on Saturday.

A 30-year-old man from Sussex Inlet was stopped for testing at midday on the Barton Highway.

“During a search of the vehicle police located approximately 1.6kg of cannabis, which was seized for further examination,” police said.

“The man was arrested and taken to Yass Police Station, where he was charged with possession of a prohibited drug and deemed supply of a prohibited drug.”

He was granted conditional bail and is due before Goulburn Local Court on May 5.

Police have been conducting the high-visibility Operation Tortoise traffic campaign over the Easter Long Weekend.

 

Police appeal for public assistance after car fire – Yass

Police are appealing for public assistance following a car fire at Yass yesterday morning.

Police and fire fighters were called to a home on Petit Street at 12.45am on Sunday after reports of a fire at the location.

Emergency services arrived to find a vehicle well alight in front of the property.

The blaze was extinguished a short time later and no one was injured during the incident.

A crime scene was established by officers from The Hume Local Area Command and examined by forensic specialists.

The blaze did not cause any damage to the property or any other surrounding homes.

Initial inquiries suggest the fire was deliberately lit and police are continuing their investigations to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the blaze.

Anyone with information that could assist police is urged to contact Yass detectives at the station 6226 9399 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Murrumbateman shops burgled

Police are investigating the theft of money from two shops in the Murrumbateman area in the early hours of Friday morning.

Sometime between 2.45am and 7am, Les’s Coffee and Sweets was broken into and a cash register containing about $300, mostly made up of coins, was taken.

The register was later found in Lake Ginninderra in Canberra.

A second shop, MBK Hair Designs, had $150 cash stolen.

Anyone with information should contact the Yass Police Station or Crime Stoppers.

Berinba’s $50,000 vandals caught 

Two 12-year-old boys have been caught in relation to a burglary and act of vandalism at Berinba Public School on Tuesday which caused $50,000 in damages.

Police said the offenders had stolen two iPads, which were later recovered, and threw paint over the walls and floors of several classrooms.

They also smashed furniture, computers and electrical equipment with clubs.

One of the boys was eligible for a police caution. The other has been charged with break, enter and steal and malicious damage.

Both were from Yass.

Low range drink driver

A 54-year-old man has been charged with low-ranger drink driving on Yass Valley Way, at Yass.

Police stopped the vehicle at 11.55am on Tuesday.

The driver returned a blood-alochol reading of 0.078.

He will appear before Yass Local Court on May 5.

Truck on fire

A prime mover caught fire and started a small grass fire near Oolong last Monday.

The driver had been travelling north on the Hume Highway when his brakes seized at about 10.50pm.

He pulled the truck over to inspect it and noticed a small fire in the rear trailer.

He tried to extinguish it but was unsuccessful, with the fire spreading to nearby grassland.

Police said he then tried to drive the truck to a safer location but didn’t make it and was forced to pull over.

Rural Fire Service firefighters and police attended and the fire was extinguished a short time later.

The truck suffered $60,000 damage and the trailer was destroyed.

One lane of the highway was closed until 7am the next morning.