A Caves Beach man has been charged with more than 20 offences following a dramatic chase with police.
On Tuesday afternoon, officers from the Northern High Visibility Policing Team spotted a grey Volkswagen ute parked in a Bennetts Green carpark on the Pacific Highway.
Believing the vehicle to be stolen, the officers approached the vehicle to speak with the driver who then attempted to flee.
In a bid to stop his escape, a male senior constable smashed the driver’s window to remove the keys from the ignition but the man pushed the officer’s arm into the broken glass and fled with the vehicle.
Police pursued the utility to South Street, Windale before losing track of it and ending the pursuit.
The injured officer was treated in hospital for minor injuries and later released and it was later confirmed the ute had been stolen from Valentine on Sunday night.
Around 9 o’clock Thursday morning the vehicle was seen driving northbound on the Pacific Highway, prompting another pursuit by police.
The ute clocked speeds of roughly 160km/h in a 100km/h zone as the driver led police to Pelican, eventually crashing into bushland off Lakeview Parade.
The driver fled the crash on foot and managed to evade police for a short time, with officers from Lake Macquarie, Operation Utah, Traffic and Highway Patrol and the Dog Unit conducting an extensive search of the surrounding area.
The 35-year-old was eventually located in Little Pelican and taken to Belmont Police Station.
He was refused bail to face court on Thursday charged with 24 offences spanning breaking and entering, car theft, driving while disqualified and refusing to provide blood and urine samples.