NSW driver rings in new year with booze and coke-fuelled high-speed chase in a Kia Rio

Some of us rang in the new year with a champagne toast with loved ones, or watched the fireworks. One man in New South Wales’ Mid North Coast region instead chose a high-speed police chase.

According to the NSW Police Force, Mid North Coast Highway Patrol officers were patrolling Plummers Lane in Rainbow Beach just after the clock struck midnight when they detected a Kia Rio travelling at 127km/h in an 80km/h zone.

When police signalled for the 23-year-old male driver to stop, he allegedly didn’t and instead led them on a pursuit reaching 150km/h, before hitting 170km/h in a 100km/h zone when officers terminated the chase.

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Down the road in Frederickton, officers deployed road spikes and the driver continued for a short distance before allegedly stopping and fleeing the vehicle. 

The man, on a P1 provisional licence, was arrested “a short distance away”, say police. A breath test returned a positive reading, and police say a later breath analysis at Kempsey Police Station showed a ‘high-range’ reading of 0.190, while a drug test showed a positive reading for cocaine.

He has been charged with driving with a high-range prescribed concentration of alcohol and driving with illicit drugs in his system, as well as driving in a dangerous manner and leading police on a pursuit and exceeding the speed limit by over 45km/h.

The man’s licence was immediately confiscated and suspended and he has been refused bail until January 15, 2026.

Perhaps next year he should just stay at home and watch the fireworks on the telly.