Man arrested after high-speed chase and ramming police cars in WA’s southwest

Early on October 15, a blue Toyota LandCruiser was taken from a residence on Kaloorup Rd in Vasse, about 230 km southwest of Perth. The vehicle was located later that afternoon at a home on Jacksonia St in Glen Iris, where police say the 42-year-old driver smashed through a fence and struck a police car before fleeing. Officers pursued the suspect, who ignored directions, drove recklessly through a school zone and onto a sandy track, prompting a temporary halt to the chase.

He was sighted the next evening on Wellesley Rd North, leading to a second pursuit during which he allegedly rammed three police cars and forced two officers to seek cover behind a tree while a tyre-deflation device was deployed. A police helicopter and ground units tracked the LandCruiser until it was stopped on Mungalup Rd near Collie, though two police vehicles were damaged. The driver, a resident of Carey Park, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of intent to prevent arrest, criminal damage, failing to stop, endangering life, as well as burglary offences linked to earlier incidents in Davenport, Boyanup, Carey Park and Bunbury. He is scheduled to appear before the Perth Magistrates Court on November 2.