Teens in stolen car caught with Covid in country town
Image: Getty
Two teens joy-riding in a stolen car have tested positive for Covid-19 after leading police on a wild chase through an iconic rural town.
An 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were stopped driving a silver Mitsubishi sedan on the Hume Highway on Tuesday morning near Gundagai, when a scan by Riverina Traffic and Highway Patrol Command officers uncovered the plates were allegedly stolen.
Police said the teen allegedly ‘accelerated away’ when officers approached the vehicle triggering a high-speed pursuit leading squad cars along the busy highway and later through a paddock.
Eventually the Mitsubishi came to a stop after it crashed into a street sign near the famous Dog on the Tucker Box monument.
NSW Police report after the pair were arrested and taken to hospital, they both tested positive to Covid, prompting the several responding officers to begin 14 days of quarantine.
The two teens are the first Covid cases ever recorded in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District and will be included in Thursday’s daily infection numbers.
The 18-year-old has been slapped with a total of 14 charges over the police pursuit including dangerous and reckless driving, resisting arrest and speeding. Investigators suspect the car was stolen near the Dapto area in Illawarra where the teen is from.
A police search of the wrecked vehicle allegedly uncovered three knives and suspected stolen number plates. The teen is also likely to be fined for breaching public health orders by leaving the Greater Sydney area during lockdown, as Illawarra falls under that term for restriction purposes.
The 18-year-old will face Goulburn Local Court on October 13.
The 16-year old will be dealt with under the Youth Offenders Act.
Police said it was extremely lucky that no one was seriously injured during the pursuit.