A 25-year-old NSW South Coast man has been charged with a range of offences after assaulting the female owner of a “one of a kind” 2018 Ford Mustang before running her over with it and then fleeing at speeds of up to 180km/h on the weekend.
Worrigee, NSW resident Caleb Flentjar is now in custody after being detained by members of the public near Kiama, following an hour-long police pursuit involving police helicopters and road spikes that ended in a crash with another car.
The pursuit started when police were called to a home east of Nowra just before 1:00pm on Saturday (July 12) after they received reports of a man seen armed with an axe and a hammer.
Upon their arrival, Mr Flentjar greeted officers from the South Coast Police District by throwing an axe at their vehicle, before he fled on foot and ran to a nearby home, where he allegedly assaulted a 66-year-old woman several times with the axe while she was sitting in the special Mustang GT.
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The damaged Ford Mustang following the pursuit. Image credit: Nine News.
Police say he then forced her out of the car, before running her over and seriously injuring her legs and torso while driving away.
He then allegedly drove through Nowra, Bomaderry, Berry, Gerringong and Kiama at 180km/h, at times exceeding the speed limit by 100km/h.
Police said they deployed road spikes to end the pursuit, but Mr Flentjar narrowly missed them and a highway patrol officer after swerving, before the Mustang was detected by PolAir heading south on the wrong side of the Princes Highway at Kiama Downs about an hour later.
Soon after it collided with a ute, before Mr Flentjar attempted to run from the scene but was apprehended by good Samaritans and detained until police arrived.
He was arrested and taken under police guard to Wollongong Hospital, before being charged at Wollongong Police Station on Sunday with 11 counts of 10 separate charges.
They include the aggravated taking of a motor vehicle with a person in it while armed with a weapon; failing to stop and assist after a vehicle impact causes grievous bodily harm; using an offensive weapon to prevent lawful apprehension; driving while disqualified; pursuit; speeding; and larceny.
The offender was also charged with three outstanding offences over an unrelated incident last week, including a domestic violence-related charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Mr Flentjar was refused bail and will attend court on July 22, while the unnamed woman was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics, before being taken to Shoalhaven Memorial Hospital in a serious but stable condition, then transferred to St George Hospital.