Cops chase motorcyclist for 400km
Monday, 3 October 2005
AFTER a lengthy chase by various highway patrol officers on the Mid-North Coast a man has been charged following an alleged hit-and-run left a police officer in hospital.
The incident, which resulted in Port Macquarie police joining the chase, started about 8.30am on Saturday when a male police officer was hit by a speeding motorbike on the Pacific Hwy at Coffs Harbour.
Police said two highway patrol officers detected the motorbike speeding in the highway's southbound lanes and a male senior constable directed it to pull over.
"However, it allegedly failed to stop and struck the officer," a police spokesman said.
The injured policeman was taken by ambulance to Coffs Harbour Hospital suffering a broken leg.
He underwent surgery and was understood to be in a satis- factory condition, the police spokesman said.
The motorcyclist, driving a Suzuki 2000 model GSXR600, who failed to stop after the incident, was later seen travelling south on the Pacific Hwy by Macksville police.
Port Macquarie police caught sight of the rider at Dennis Bridge just north of Port and took chase at high speeds but were unable to find a safe break in traffic. They saw the rider turn right onto the Oxley Hwy, allegedly travelling at speeds of more than 200km/h.
Armidale police eventually stopped and arrested the 20-year-old Queensland motorcyclist about 4pm.
It was found he was driving with a disqualified licence and had appeared in Grafton Local Court on September 19 in relation to other matters involving the disqualification of his licence.
He was later charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, assaulting an officer on duty, driving at a dangerous speed, exceeding the speed limit and disqualified driver/ rider charges.
He was refused bail and will face an Armidale Court tomorrow.
Topic: Cops chase motorcyclist for 400km/AUS (Read 2238 times)