The fully marked NSW Police caged truck was allegedly taken from the Gundagai police station on Saturday morning. Police were alerted just after 9am when the teen was allegedly seen driving along Muttama Road at Coolac,about 20 kilometres away.
It sparked a pursuit by officers,but the chase was quickly abandoned due to safety concerns. Three police cars,a Highway Patrol sedan and two Riverina police district vehicles were damaged after the teen allegedly rammed them with the stolen divvy van.
Police followed the teen across rural and main roads,including in Gundagai town,for over an hour,until the car stopped in a park where the teen was arrested.
A video uploaded to Facebook shows the stolen car speeding through the streets with its lights and sirens on,with a police car following closely behind.
One officer is being treated for tissue damage.
The 17-year-old was taken to Wagga Wagga Police Station where he allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.09,nearly double the legal driving limit for drivers on unrestricted licenses.
Police are appealing for anyone with dashcam vision to contact Wagga Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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