Seat swap during high-speed chase

As he was being pursued by the police at speeds of more than 160kmh on rural Waikato roads, Joshua Farrell swapped seats with his front seat passenger as his car veered all over the road.

The ‘‘highly reckless’’ move led in part to a 12-month stint in jail for Joshua Joseph Farrell, 32, of Kihikihi, when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Thursday, after earlier pleading guilty to charges of reckless driving, failing to stop for police and driving while disqualified.

Those charges stemmed from a chase that began on O’Regan Rd, near Temple View, about 5.45pm on Saturday, February 22 when a police patrol spotted Farrell behind the wheel of a Mazda Attenza, zooming along at 124kmh.

Lights and sirens were activated and Farrell was signalled to pull over. Instead, he hit the accelerator, heading north. As he approached the intersection with Collins Rd at estimated speeds in excess of 160kmh, Farrell moved completely into the opposite lane before slowing drastically and turning left onto Collins Rd. He then headed west at more than 130kmh.

As the police summary of facts on the case reveals, after about 900 metres he slowed again and swerved violently across the centre line, fully into the opposite lane as he and his 25-year-old female passenger in the front seat swapped positions ‘‘whilst under motion’’.

The Mazda then swerved violently back into the correct lane and the woman now behind the wheel pulled to the left and stopped. When spoken to by the police, Farrell admitted his wrongdoing and said he had panicked and had taken off to evade capture. A presentence report recommended prison as the most suitable consequence for Farrell’s offending.

In court his counsel Rob Quin said Farrell had support from his family, who would help him with his rehabilitation.

Judge Merelina Burnett scolded Farrell for his ‘‘highly reckless’’ manoeuvre also disqualified Farrell from driving for three years. It is a ban that will take effect from December 19, when his current twoyear disqualification period – imposed in December 2017 – comes to an end.