A learner driver has been charged with multiple offences following a high-speed police pursuit through eastern Melbourne. The incident began around 3:35 am when police spotted a grey Mercedes Sedan, believed to be stolen, on the Princes Highway in Narre Warren. Officers tracked the vehicle as it accelerated dangerously through Berwick and onto the Princes Freeway, where it allegedly reached speeds of up to 200 km/h, narrowly avoiding a collision on Wheelers Park Drive.
Despite police deploying a tyre deflation device on Clyde Road, the driver continued onto the Monash Freeway. The chase ended when the Mercedes was abandoned near the Stud Road exit in Dandenong North, and the driver fled on foot. A 16-year-old boy was apprehended by police and a K9 unit in a nearby reserve.
He faces charges of vehicle theft, reckless driving endangering life, and being a learner driver without supervision. Authorities are also investigating his potential involvement in an aggravated burglary. The Mercedes is reported to have been stolen from a residence on Coachella Way in Berwick earlier that night.