After four police officers were hurt during a tense chase yesterday outside of Toowoomba, a Queensland man has been charged with attempted murder.
Three of the policemen have been discharged from the hospital, but the fourth, a senior constable, 54, who was airlifted from the site to a hospital in Brisbane, is still in critical condition.
The 54-year-old officer from the Toowoomba Property Crime Squad, Detective Senior Constable Steven Ingerson, has subsequently awakened after spending the night in a coma.
Since being transported to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane yesterday afternoon, family members have finally been able to talk with him.
Significant hip and pelvic injuries as well as possible internal haemorrhage are present in him.
The leader of the Queensland Police Union, Ian Leaver, said: “He will be evaluated by medical professionals today; it will be a long road to recovery for him.”
According to Mr. Leaver, one of the other cops has a shattered collarbone.
Police claim that when a stolen Hino truck was discovered by authorities yesterday at 1:20 pm outside of Toowoomba, the 45-year-old accused was behind the wheel.
Police stopped the Hino after flagging it down, but when they opened the door, the driver sped up, trapping the policemen between the truck and their patrol car before throwing them across the bonnet and onto the road.
The truck allegedly then drove off, leaving the critically hurt officers on the road, before being pursued by two additional patrol cars to a waste management facility in Goombungee.
The two police cars were severely damaged as a result of the truck driver’s suspected deliberate ramming of them, and the two officers received minor injuries before he was apprehended.
A number of serious accusations are brought against the man from Oakey, including two counts of attempted murder, illegal use of a vehicle, break-in, wilful damage, fleeing from police, and possession of hazardous narcotics.
He’ll show up in today’s Toowoomba Magistrates Court hearing.
The truck and a Hilux vehicle were purportedly taken that morning at 4 a.m., although the ute was stopped three hours earlier at nearby Charlton using a tyre deflation device.
Two guys, aged 19 and 28, were detained there and later charged with a number of crimes, including theft, illegal use of a car, and narcotics charges.
Along with the 45-year-old, they will both appear in Toowoomba Magistrates Court this morning.
Leaver claimed that the incident “rocked the Southern Downs community and the policing community.”
