Teens in car chase havoc Two to face court after public point police vehicles ‘ in right direction’
POLICE charged two youths after a stolen SUV caused havoc in Townsville and Charters Towers yesterday morning.
The Nissan Juke was stolen from North Ward in the early hours yesterday, and was driven erratically throughout Townsville before making its way to Charters Towers.
Charters Towers Police Station officer- in- charge Senior Sergeant Grahman Lohmann said road spikes were used on the vehicle on the Flinders Highway west of the town.
He said the car was driven for at least 15 minutes on three tyres as two teenage boys inside attempted to evade police.
The car was found dumped in Paull St and officers found the two youths hiding in a nearby residence.
“The pursuit was terminated due to safety reasons and ( the arrest) was particularly ( due to) the assistance from the local members of the community that were able to point out where the vehicle was heading and eventually abandoned,” he said. “People were on the roadside pointing police in the right direction.”
Two boys, aged 14 and 16, were yesterday charged with a range of offences including burglary, theft and traffic violations. Police allege the teens were involved in three burglaries in Townsville yesterday.
Senior Sergeant Matt Lyons said a house in Rose St, North Ward, was broken into shortly after midnight. He said keys to a car were taken but the vehicle was crashed inside a unit complex and the offenders fled.
A laptop and speakers were stolen from another Rose St address before the Nissan Juke and a Holden Commodore were taken from a Cook St home after the thieves forced their way through the front door and stole the car keys.
The road drama began when police received reports from several motorists involved in near misses with the recklessly driven vehicle.
Police received reports of two cars, a white hatchback and the Nissan, doing burn outs and racing along More- A MUCH- needed drenching could be on the way for Townsville.
Forecastingg service Windy y TV predictp ts 167.55mm of rain could fall on the city over the next 10 days.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s forecasts do not extend past next Wednesday, but its estimates show up to 70mm of rain in Townsville between Sundayy and Wednesday.y
BoM M forecaster Andrew Busalino said an upper trough would shift over Queensland and move around the state into next week.
“It’s a pretty complicated synoptic situation,” he said.
“These weather systems are notorious for being hard to predict. We can’t pinpoint how much rain will fall but we can give a range.”
Townsville often misses out on substantial rain because of its geographical position and according to more conservative head St, South Townsville.
Sen- Sgt Lyons said police then received regular updates from the public. The Nissan was seen running a red light at Bayswater Rd at 7.10am, driving recklessly along Hugh St at 7.25am and doing burnouts in Gatton St at 8.07am.
The Nissan was then spotted at a service station in Woodstock at 8.52am on its way to Charters Towers.
Sen- Sgt Lohmann said a 16year- old Townsville boy had been charged with 17 offences and a 14- year- old Charters Towers boy was charged with eight. Both will front Townsville Children’s Court today. estimates there could be as littlelittl as 9mm fall on the city.
Mr Busalino said it was clear there would be unsettled weather conditions into next week.
He said the system would come from the interior of the country and start to amplify over western parts of the state during the weekend.
Early next week, it will slowly rotate around Queensland, which Mr Busalino said was “unusual”.
“It’s significant and very slow moving. These are the systems you get widespread rain,” he said.
He advised residents to keep up to date with forecasts and warnings from the bureau.
“It’s too early to pinpointp where but the rain will occur r,” he said.
ANDREW BACKHOUSE