A Sanctuary Point P-plate driver who led police on a high-speed, nine-minute pursuit that covered 16.6 kilometres and reached speeds estimated up to 170km/h has been jailed.
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Adam Hellman, 22, pleaded guilty to police pursuit not stop dangerous driving charged under Skye's Law and with failing to display P-plates in Nowra Local Court on Wednesday, December 27, with Magistrate Gabriel Fleming sentencing him to 12-months' jail.
Hellman was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, November 23 after leading police on the chase from Nowra through farmland at Terara, Numbaa and Brundee before being arrested in Worrigee near the sports club when the Holden Statesman he was driving died.
He was initially refused bail when he appeared in a special sitting of Nowra Local Court on November 23, and again on Monday, November 25.
It was at that appearance police released details of the P-plater's attempt to outrun police in the high-speed chase.
It was revealed Hellman had only been reissued with his provision licence in September.
Court papers said police spotted the Holden Statesman Hellman was driving around 1.21am on November 23 during a regular patrol in the Nowra area.
The car turned off the Princes Highway at Nowra into Pleasant Way, with police attempting to stop the vehicle for a random breath test.
Police activated lights and sirens and after slowing and pulling to the left-hand side of the road, the vehicle accelerated harshly.
The vehicle is estimated to have reached 100km/h in the residential area in and around Hawthorne Avenue, Riverview Road and Ferry Lane.
Police said at one stage the vehicle reached between 120 and 160km/h in a 50 zone.
Turning onto Terara Road and heading east, the car reached 120km/h in a 60 zone and later between 150 and 170km/h in an 80 zone, crossing to the incorrect side of the road and cutting corners.
Along Jindy Andy Lane it is estimated speeds of between 150 and 170km/h were reached before the vehicle turned back onto Greenwell Point Road and headed west back into Nowra.
Police said the vehicle started to slow before the vehicle came to a complete stop about 200m west of Rayleigh Drive adjacent to the Worrigee Sports Club where he was arrested.
Magistrate Fleming sentenced Hellman to 12-months' jail with a non-parole period of four months.
He will be eligible for release in March next year.
She also disqualified him from driving for 18-months and ordered he obtain a mental health care plan.
Read more: Crime/Court
