Man loses his licence after dangerous driving, performing burnouts in Bendigo

The 19-year-old man appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to 10 charges including driving in a manner dangerous.

The court heard on December 19 last year, police saw the man driving a Holden Commodore along Williamson Street with two passengers in the vehicle.

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The officers followed him as he turned down Brougham Street, before activating their lights and sirens.

The man ignored the instructions to pull over and instead sped off at 100km/h. He lost traction twice as he turned down Miller Street.

The police pulled out of the chase due to safety concerns.

Officers patrolling the Bendigo area saw the same car parked at a McIvor Highway address the next day. The man was at the property and admitted to evading police.

The court heard between May 26 and May 27 this year, the man and two co-accused were involved in a number of dangerous driving incidents around Bendigo.

Shortly after midnight on May 26, the man was a passenger in a blue Holden Sedan that was speeding along the Midland Highway, travelling at speeds between 135km/h and 199km/h.

The same car was also seen driving along Lyttleton Terrace, with the man hanging out of a passenger window while holding onto a rubbish bin.

The court heard the group drove to the intersection of High Street and Thistle Street and performed several burnouts outside of the Bendigo Police Station.

The car lost traction during the burnout and narrowly avoided colliding with parked vehicles.

In the early hours of May 27, the man was driving with his co-accused when he again performed burnouts at the intersection of Myer and Mitchell streets.

That evening, police saw the group driving along the McIvor Highway with the Holden's number plates covered with grey tape.

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The officers activated their lights and sirens, but the group sped off.

The court heard the man and one of the co-accused turned themselves in to the Bendigo Police Station the next morning.

The man told police the group had decided to "run a bit of amok" as a way to "relieve stress".

Defence lawyer Madeleine Mein told the court the man was remorseful for his offending, which was shown through his admissions and his early guilty plea.

Ms Mein said the man had gone through a difficult period where he was couch surfing and living with the family of one of his co-accused.

The defence lawyer said in recent months, the man had returned to living with his grandparents and father, and had enrolled in a TAFE course.

Ms Mein said the man, who had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, had also received in-patient care for his mental health conditions.

The defence lawyer submitted a community corrections order without a conviction was within range as the man had no prior convictions.

Magistrate Sharon McRae said she was worried a corrections order would result in the man being involved with the wrong crowd.

"I hope these charges are an aberration," she said. "But to say I'm unimpressed is an understatement."

Ms McRae said the man had endangered the community while "driving like a lunatic".

But the magistrate said it seemed the man had gotten his life back on track and she did not want to interrupt his progress.

The man was instead fined $1500 without conviction. His licence was cancelled and he was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

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