Chaos in Sydney’s CBD after alleged carjacking, crash outside Queen Victoria Building
A South Australian man visiting Sydney will be charged after allegedly carjacking a Mazda and driving erratically down George Street, hitting a pedestrian and crashing into a police car in front of stunned Thursday-night shoppers.
The 36-year-old man appeared covered in blood and dressed only in his underwear when he was arrested outside the Queen Victoria Building about 9pm on Thursday, shocking onlookers leaving work and enjoying late-night shopping.
He allegedly bundled a woman in her 20s out of her Mazda sedan after approaching the parked car at the intersection of King and Pitt streets in Sydney’s CBD, climbing over the roof and bonnet before throwing out the driver.
Police believe it was a random attack, and had fielded calls about the man’s erratic behaviour before the alleged carjacking. Detectives are investigating whether he was affected by drugs at the time of the crash.
The man drove along George Street before crashing into a ride-share vehicle near the intersection of Market Street, hitting the driver and female passenger in her 20s. Both were unharmed.
The vehicle then allegedly crashed into a marked police car parked near the light rail tracks at the Queen Victoria Building, occupied by two officers uninjured in the collision. They arrested the man, who was treated by police and paramedics on the nearby footpath. Footage from the scene shows the Mazda crashed head-on with the vehicle, next to the light rail stop, while onlookers gathered.
A woman walking past the Queen Victoria Building was struck by a bollard dislodged in the collision, suffering injuries to her head. The woman in her 50s, who had been shopping at the precinct before the crash, suffered head injuries and was hospitalised in a stable condition.
The alleged carjacker, known to SA Police but not NSW law enforcement, was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital under police guard.
He is expected to be charged over the carjacking in the coming hours, once he is discharged from hospital. He may face additional driving offences, pending the results of drug and alcohol testing.
Sydney City Police Area Commander Adam Solah described a “chaotic scene” confronting officers on Thursday, and praised first responders at the scene.
“There were people out, late-night shopping outside the Queen Victoria Building, it was very crowded, we were very lucky that no one was seriously injured,” Solah said. “A number of bystanders came in to offer medical assistance to everyone who was involved, and they did a really good job.”
The police car parked on George Street is regularly stationed by the QVB for officers conducting proactive patrols, who are tasked with assisting the flow of traffic in the busy pedestrian area.
The young woman allegedly bundled from her car was shaken by the incident, according to Solah, and was helping police with the investigation.
The scene has been cleared, and the light rail is running at normal servicing on Friday morning.
More to come
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.