A 30-YEAR-OLD man was arrested yesterday by Singleton police after he allegedly rammed a stolen four-wheel-drive into a highway patrol car and sparked a chase that ended with the vehicle being abandoned on a dirt track about 20 kilometres from town.
The incident began at 2.30pm last Saturday when police spotted a stolen Ford Ranger in the Singleton McDonald’s takeaway food drive-through.
Police parked their car near the vehicle with the intention of speaking to its driver.
He then accelerated into the front of the police car, causing several thousand dollars damage, and raced off.
Although damaged, the police car chased the four-wheel-drive down Boonal and Queen streets towards Mirannie.
A formal pursuit began, with three other police vehicles taking part.
The four-wheel-drive eventually went down a dirt track at Mirannie where it was abandoned and the driver ran off.
The thief is suspected of making his way back to Singleton and stealing a twin-cab four-wheel-drive Holden Rodeo from a John Street service station on Monday.
Singleton highway patrol spokesman Kevin Smith said; “At this stage we can only link this man with the theft of the Ford Ranger, which was stolen from a Singleton address, but suspect he may be involved with the Rodeo being taken too.
“This is the third vehicle to be stolen from the Singleton area in the last couple of weeks that has either been left with the keys in the ignition or left idling, so it’s a warning for people to lock their cars and take their keys when they stop at a service station or just duck into a shop.
“Whether it was this person, or someone else who stole these cars people should be aware that there are others out there that take advantage of opportunistic situations.”