By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
AN “off the rails” ice user has crashed a car and trailer after attempting to swap seats with a passenger while travelling about 100 km/h in Pakenham.
A court was told that during the seat-switch, one of the car’s occupants knocked the gear lever into ‘Park’ on Princes Highway on the night of 14 November.
The vehicle then spun out of control and the trailer loaded with a dirt bike detached from the car.
The driver Ayden Furlong, 19, and his passenger – both allegedly alcohol and drug affected – were uninjured as their vehicle crashed into safety barriers on Princes Highway.
The trailer loaded with the dirt bike had been stolen from Cockatoo hours before the incident.
Furlong was unsuccessfully hunted by the police’s Dog Squad and Air Wing after being spotted driving erratically in Koo Wee Rup later that night, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court was told.
As part of a three month crime spree, the accused stole a ute briefly parked on Army Road, Pakenham at 5pm the next day; its owner had left keys in the ignition as he delivered tools to a house.
In that same ute, Furlong performed a petrol drive-off hours later and sped in a dangerous manner from police at a McDonalds drive-through in Wonthaggi the next day.
Late on 24 August, Furlong rode a stolen motorcycle on the wrong side of Racecourse Road, Pakenham to evade pursuing police.
He wasn’t wearing a helmet or protective gear at the time, the court was told.
Furlong and two associates had stolen the $4500 bike from one of the associates’ parents’ home in Berwick earlier that day. The motorbike had not been recovered, the court was told.
On 9 November, he fled on foot after a head-on crash in a stolen Astra with another vehicle in James Street, Pakenham. The other car’s occupants, including an eight-year-old girl, were uninjured.
Furlong was also charged with five petrol drive offs, stealing his mother’s Falcon, which he crashed into a fence in Emerald, and trespass into a Gembrook towing company’s lot to illegally reclaim a vehicle.
He was arrested at his mother’s home in Pakenham on 19 November.
At the time, Furlong was on bail for burglary and theft of a motor vehicle, and had failed to appear at court.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Liz Millear told the court on 14 December that Furlong made full admissions to the charges, blaming it on his “heavy” ice use.
Furlong’s lawyer said the 18-month ice habit had escalated to using the drug every two days.
Schooled up to year 7, Furlong had dropped out of work for the past nine months.
The lawyer told the court Furlong was unable to comply with a community-based order because he was a two hour public transport trip away from the Office of Corrections.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen retorted: “I don’t mean to be silly … but he seems to get around a lot when he’s committing an offence.”
Mr Vandersteen said the accused – fuelled by his drug use – had come close to hurting himself and others on several occasions.
“You really are going off the rails.”
He noted Furlong was looking well after drying out for the past 25 days in remand, but had spent enough time in the adult corrections system.
Furlong was sentenced to a further six months in youth detention and disqualified from driving for a year, taking into account his youthfulness and family support.
