A learner driver who led police on a high-speed 20 kilometre pursuit before colliding with a patrol car has been jailed for up to two years.
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Douglas Stanley Darcy, 30, of Mogo, was sentenced in Batemans Bay Local Court on August 6 after pleading guilty to nine charges relating to the Benandarah to Nelligen chase.
Police said Darcy was driving south on the Princes Highway at Ulladulla on the evening of June 8, 2018, when officers observed him driving unaccompanied, not wearing a seatbelt and not displaying L-plates.
At Benanderah, police attempted to flag Darcy down, but he accelerated.
Court documents showed Darcy reached speeds of up to 145km/h in a 100km/h zone in busy Queen’s Birthday weekend traffic.
At Cullendulla, Darcy veered onto the wrong side of the road, avoiding road spikes.
He continued at a high speed, overtaking vehicles in the northbound lane and raced through a 60km/h zone at more than 120km/h.
Police said as Darcy approached the Kings Highway roundabout at North Batemans Bay he passed through the intersection on the wrong side of the road at high speed, overtaking several cars.
The pursuit continued onto the Kings Highway, where Darcy drove over a concrete median strip and overtook cars on the wrong side of the road.
He led police through Nelligen before turning onto Runnyford Road and proceeding down a fire trail.
After reaching a dead end, he turned back towards police, narrowly avoiding a collision with their car.
The pursuit continued, but Darcy soon crashed into another police vehicle and careered into a tree.
Police said Darcy was not wearing a seatbelt during the collision and was launched against the front windscreen, causing it to smash and resulting in non-life threatening injuries.
Darcy was arrested and a police search uncovered the the drug “ice” in his car and a small amount of cannabis in his jacket.
Documents showed Darcy was “extremely well-known to police” for prior traffic, property and violence-related offences.
Magistrate Doug Dick sentenced him to two years’ jail, with a non-parole period of 12 months. He was fined more than $4000.