A man who led police on a high-speed chase down the Midland Highway while under the influence of drugs and driving a stolen car has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Nikolas Ferrall, 41, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, evading police, stealing, driving while disqualified, motor vehicle theft and possessing $50 in counterfeit money.
The Supreme Court heard that Ferrall stole about $73 worth of fuel from a Longford petrol station in the car he had come into possession of on February 25, 2024, before leading police on a chase an hour later.
He overtook vehicles at speeds of up to 120km/h, swerved across lanes and even drove on the wrong side of the road while being pursued by police.
The first officers disengaged their attempts to stop Ferrall before a second police unit spotted him on the Midland Highway near Tunbridge an hour later, from which he again sped away.
The chase ended after road spikes were deployed north of Melton Mowbray.
With one tyre still intact, Ferrall drove a further 9km, before passing through a gap in the centre wire barrier and into the path of oncoming traffic, eventually losing control and crashing into a verge.
Supreme Court Justice Robert Pearce said Ferrall has “no memory” of the chase as he was “so affected by drugs”, having claimed to have injected himself with methylamphetamine for the first time, which caused an “unusually strong reaction”.
He noted that the driving occurred over a lengthy journey on one of the state’s busiest roads at a time when it was likely to be busy.
“There were multiple instances of actual danger. Your speed was not as extreme as is sometimes seen is such cases, but was still dangerous in the circumstances which existed,” Pearce said in his passing comments.
“No damage was done to person or property other than to the stolen car you were driving, which will likely be written off. However the manner and speed of your driving posed a grave risk to other road users.”
Pearce activated a five-month suspended sentence from a previous conviction and imposed a cumulative sentence of three years, with a non-parole period of 18 months.
He also disqualified Ferrall from driving for four years from his release date.
“I accept that you are now appalled by your conduct and are sorry for it,” Pearce said.
