A teenager is facing a string of serious charges after allegedly leading police on a wild 40-minute pursuit through several Perth suburbs in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Midland detectives attempted to stop the driver of a red Holden Commodore sedan on Malaga Drive, in Malaga, about 12.30am.
Police allege the 16-year-old driver accelerated away instead of stopping, sparking a dangerous chase through Malaga, Bennett Springs, Caversham, Beechboro and Morley.
During the pursuit, the teenager allegedly put other road users in grave danger by reaching high speeds, travelling on the wrong side of the road, ignoring red lights and driving recklessly through roadworks — forcing other motorists to swerve onto the other side of the road to avoid a collision.
With the assistance of the Police Air Wing tracking the vehicle from above, officers monitored the Commodore as it headed towards Padbury.
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The driver eventually abandoned the car on McArthur Street before fleeing on foot.
He was tracked down a short distance away and taken into custody without further incident.
The 16-year-old has been charged with one count of reckless driving to escape pursuit by police, one count of being a driver of a vehicle who failed to comply with a direction to stop, and one count of no authority to drive.
Bail was refused for the teenager and he was set to appear before the Perth Children’s Court on Saturday.
The Commodore has been impounded for 28 days.
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