Escapee captured after police chase

A 35-YEAR-old prison escapee has been arrested after leading police on a wild car chase through Bridgewater.

The man broke out of Risdon Prison before driving away in a ute which police allege was stolen from a nearby driveway.

The ute allegedly had a shotgun locked in a secure compartment underneath its rear tray which the driver was seemingly unaware of.

The chase came to an end after the car ploughed through a fence next to the highway.

Neighbour Jace Pearce heard the bang and came running, to discover a ute and several police cars just over his backyard fence.

“There were heaps of cop cars everywhere,” Mr Pearce said.

“I was worried that the car was going to drive straight through my fence.”

Nearby resident Sarah Jane, 28, also heard the crash.

“We heard a bit of banging and crashing. We looked over the back fence and there was a sign knocked down and a tyre rolling down the road,” Ms Jane said.

“We came down and had a look and saw that the ute come to a stop on the tree.”

Local mum Emma, who did not wish to have her surname published, was driving into the city when she saw the mayhem unfold.

“I was just going out to do some birthday shopping but I couldn’t get through so I had to swerve off the road,” Emma said.

“It makes you wonder why a person would be so desperate to escape, what’s going on in there for them to be so desperate to get out?”

The man was charged with numerous offences, including evade police (aggravated circumstances), escape and motor vehicle stealing and will appear in court on Friday.

Police inspector Brett Berry said there would be an extensive investigation into the incident.

Inspector Berry said they believed the man had no help from outside the prison and that the stolen vehicle was chosen at random.

“The male is alleged to have stolen a car from the nearby suburb of Risdon Vale, a white Ford utility,” Inspector Berry said.

Corrections Minister Elise Archer said the fugitive had been in a minimum security prison when he escaped.

“Any escape of course … from a prison facility is completely unacceptable,” Ms Archer said.

“These are the result of inadvertent, but unfortunate human errors.”

Ms Archer addressed parliament at Question Time on Thursday after Labor Leader Rebecca White asked how a prisoner could escape.

“On your watch serious mistakes are being made,” Ms White said.

Ms Archer said the government was being transparent and investing in projects such as the Justice Connect Project to address the issue.