Kangaroo Flat police chase driver had 'moment of panic'

Mark Lewis Hayward pleaded guilty to charges of driving carelessly and dangerously, failing to stop for police and driving while his licence was suspended after the August incident, which saw police abandon their chase.

Whether it was "a good policy or bad policy" for police to break off pursuits was not for him to say, Magistrate Ross Maxted told the court last week, but he believed "recidivists" take advantage of it.

On Sunday, August 14 about 12.45pm two police officers in an unmarked patrol car saw Hayward driving a black Toyota Hilux utility south on Mitchell Street, Kangaroo Flat.

MORE NEWS: Truck driver dies after hitting fallen tree, road toll 16-year high

The officers pulled in behind the ute as it travelled along Crusoe Road, activated their sirens and red and blue flashing lights and attempted to intercept the Toyota as it turned left into the service road on High Street.

The vehicle reached a speed of approximately 70km/h in a 50km/h zone along High Street, police said.

In-car police video then captured the vehicle driving over a concrete centre median strip on Wesley Street approximately 50km/h, with "a manner and speed of driving" that would have given any vehicles travelling east on Wesley Street at the time "no chance" of avoiding a collision.

Hayward then continued along the service road on High Street and accelerated away.

The police officers then pulled over and deactivated their lights and sirens.

Seeing that Hayward was the driver, they confirmed his identity and the fact that he was unlicensed via VicRoads.

One of the officers then went to Hayward's address and left a business card there, telling him to make contact with them.

An hour and 20 minutes later when police visited the premises again and there was no one home, but Hayward subsequently turned up at the station.

When he was interviewed, the 40-year-old said he was driving unlicensed because he needed to get dirt for his dogs due to his yard being flooded.

Asked if he had seen the police car's flashing lights, he replied, "That's why I ran. I don't have a licence."

He had "no reason" for his dangerous driving but was hoping to get away with it because he was getting his licence back soon and "being in carpentry you need your licence".

He denied having been drinking before the police chase but said he had been drinking after it.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The court heard Hayward had previously been convicted of driving offences and sentenced him to a term of imprisonment served through a corrections order.

"He's done it before ... he's got a history of it," Magistrate Maxted said.

However, Legal Aid lawyer Karin Temperley argued the 40-year-old, whose parents were present in court, had turned a corner in his life and had "in a nutshell" experienced "a moment of panic" on that day.

In the third year of a carpentry apprenticeship with an incredibly supportive employer, he saw "a clear future" in terms of work and community.

"He very clearly feels it's the last time," she said.

Ms Temperley said what was different about his offending on this occasion was that he had reached out for help to his boss, who drove him to the police station.

In his sentencing remarks, Magistrate Ross Maxted noted Hayward had a history of alcohol-related offences and suggested he had been "savvy enough to consume alcohol immediately after he got home" on the day of the police pursuit, which meant his blood alcohol content at the time couldn't be tested.

He sentenced him to a mandatory 12-month loss of licence, 200 hours of community work, a bond of $550 and a one-month alcohol exclusion period, during which he was forbidden from attending any licensed premises, and should "address [his] habit".

"This will re-inforce that I think you have a problem," the magistrate said.

Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser app. Click here to download.