A man is set to face court today after a dramatic police chase on the NSW Central Coast in which two officers were allegedly assaulted and homeowners were threatened with a gun.
It began when police attempted to arrest the 29-year-old man on outstanding warrants as he was sitting inside a Mercedes in a Bateau Bay car park at 2.40pm yesterday.
The man ran and was pursued by police before returning to the car park and attempting to steal a vehicle.
When police attempted to arrest him, he allegedly assaulted them and managed to escape and then attempted to steal a motorbike.
This failed and he instead returned to his Mercedes and drove off.
A police car pursuit began but was soon called off due to safety concerns.
Instead, a police helicopter tracked the Mercedes to Wyoming, where the driver allegedly went into a house and threatened the residents with a gun, then took a white Mazda ute from their garage.
The Mazda was tracked to a shopping centre in Erina, where the driver attempted to take other cars but this failed and he drove off.
While driving through Erina, the Mazda collided with a patrol car on Barralong Road, before colliding with another vehicle at a roundabout on Terrigal Drive.
Dramatic footage captured by onlookers and given exclusively to 2GB’s Ben Fordham shows the Mazda crashing into another white ute as it exits the roundabout, as police sirens blare.
The shirtless driver is seen getting out of the ute and fleeing on foot, leaping onto an approaching patrol car as he runs.
Dozens of police swarm the scene and successfully arrest him about 100 metres down the road with the use of OC spray.
The man was taken to Gosford Police Station, where he was assessed by paramedics and taken to Gosford Hospital, where he remains under police guard.
The 29-year-old is now facing a long list of charges, which include multiple counts of stealing a motor vehicle and assaulting police officers.
Other charges include resisting arrest, intimidating police, possessing an unauthorised firearm, dangerous driving and assault with the intent of taking a motor vehicle.
He is also being charged with three outstanding warrants for drug and robbery offences.
