Man on parole charged with multiple driving offences

A 35-year-old man will face the ACT Magistrates Court today following a dangerous driving incident yesterday evening.

About 4.50pm yesterday (Wednesday, 18 September 2024), police received reports of a red Kia Stonic driving erratically on Hindmarsh Drive and Easty Street in Phillip.

A short time later, police attempted to stop the vehicle in Phillip. However the man accelerated onto the wrong side of the road in the middle of an intersection, overtaking a vehicle before turning into a dead end on Neptune Street.

Police deployed a tyre deflation device which the driver avoided by driving the wrong direction on a one-way road, causing other road users to mount the gutter to avoid a collision.

The driver of the Kia then collided with another vehicle and continued driving in the wrong direction where police lost sight of the vehicle.

About 5:40pm, police were conducting a patrol on Launceston Street in Lyons when they observed the red Kia Stonic stationary with the engine running.

Police approached the driver side of the vehicle and found the man asleep in the driver’s seat.

Officers woke the man and subjected him to a roadside alcohol screening test which returned a positive result. He was arrested and taken to City Police Station where further testing returned a blood alcohol content of 0.150 grams of alcohol in 210 litres of breath.

The man was charged with failing to stop for police, dangerous driving, overtaking a vehicle when unsafe, not providing details following a collision, drink driving and breaching his parole obligations. His licence was also suspended for a period of 90 days.

He is scheduled to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court today (Thursday, 19 September 2024).