Photo credit: NSW Police Facebook page
You get bad driving, very bad driving, and driving that’s so awful and dangerous that it’s hard to comprehend.
Police in New South Wales are searching for the male driver of a rented SUV who was involved in up to eight hit-and-run road accidents in a single morning in Sydney.
As a result of the accidents, three people were injured and two had to be taken to hospital.
According to a statement issued by NSW Police, the drama began unfolding at around 8:20am on Sunday when the Brisbane Water Highway Patrol (despite the name, a police district in NSW), stopped a grey Holden Equinox on the M1 at Bar Point and the driver was issued a traffic infringement notice for speeding more than 45km/h.
The driver, a 35-year-old man from Queensland, had his licence suspended on the spot.
Despite this, less than an hour later the same vehicle was involved in a collision with a cyclist on the Pacific Highway at Lindfield in Sydney. The cyclist suffered abrasions to his hip and elbow.
About five minutes later – and 2km south of the first collision – the same SUV hit another cyclist; this time a 55-year-old man suffered five fractured ribs and a fractured collarbone. He remains in Royal North Shore Hospital.
“Both times the driver allegedly left the scene without rendering assistance or providing details,” police said.
Less than a half-hour after this, the same vehicle was driving the Eastern Distributor Tunnel at Woolloomooloo in Sydney when it hit a Mercedes-Benz C220 sedan from behind. The sedan spun out, blocking all three lanes and the SUV did not stop.
The driver was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital to be checked as a precaution. He sustained bruising and swelling in the incident.
Only minutes later, a Land Rover Sport was hit by a SUV as the vehicles were travelling east along Alison Road at Kensington. Again the SUV failed to stop.
As the driver of a passing vehicle, a Suburu WRX, was noting down the details of the wayward SUV, the driver spotted him and tried to reverse into him, but in the process hit a different vehicle, a Mitsubishi Eclipse.
A short while later, a 36-year-old man was cycling along Perry Street at Matraville when he was hit from behind by the SUV, knocking him off his bike. He sustained cuts to his left elbow and back.
Crazed driver strikes two more vehicles in his rampage
Then the apparently crazed driver drove to the suburb of Glebe, where he struck a Mitsubishi Forester driving in the same direction along Bridge Road.
The last known incident occurred at Lane Cove at 11:15am, when a woman told police an Equinox SUV drove beside her and deliberately swerved into her lane and hit her before leaving the scene.
“The vehicle is described as being a 2018-model grey Holden Equinox with Queensland registration 729ZAB,” police said. “If the vehicle is seen, do not approach and called 000 immediately.”