Source : Perth Now news
An elderly man has been left fighting for life following a horror collision with an unmarked police car, during a pursuit through Perth.
A grey Renault Koleos was allegedly stolen from a home on Elizabeth Street in White Gum Valley, near Fremantle, about 3.10am on Monday.
Police spotted the stolen car and tried to stop it on the Albany Highway at Maddington, in Perth’s southeast.
A pursuit began after the driver refused to stop.
A white Hyundai Accent sedan then turned right into Beasley Rd at Leeming, colliding with a police car travelling west on South St about 10.50am.
The driver of the Hyundai, an elderly man aged 80, was cut free from his vehicle by firefighters.
He suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash and was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital.
St John WA also transported two police officers to Fiona Stanley Hospital, including a male aged in his 40s and a female in her 30s, to Fiona Stanley condition.
The police helicopter tracked the stolen Renault to a Coogee caravan park where the driver fled on foot.
A man, 27, was arrested nearby on Cockburn Rd and is now assisting police with inquiries.
A witness described the frightening moment he thought the car was rolling towards him.
Tradie Owen Fallis told The West the front of a car was “totally ripped off” and he could smell “hot oil … in the air.”
“The car’s front was totally ripped off, the engine was 30m at least away from the car,” he said.
”The heavy block of the engine, you could definitely hear that just get ripped out of the car and scrape across the floor, which I guess made it sound like a car was rolling towards us.
“I thought that somebody might have passed away, just based on the sheer impact and the sound.
“I think the police officers got out of the car relatively quickly.”
Major crash officers are now investigating and urged anyone who witnessed the crash or has footage to contact Crime Stoppers.
