Justin Williams, 45, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to careless driving and failing to stop on police direction.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Fiona Kennedy told the court Williams crossed on to the wrong side of the road as he turned the corner from Ferguson Rd into Turnbull Rd at Tatura on July 11, 2019.
The court heard as Williams came around the corner, the Fiat van he was driving as a delivery driver for a Shepparton butcher crossed into the path of a police van travelling on Turnbull Rd, before speeding around the van and driving away.
The police van turned its flashing lights on and pursued Williams for 1.5km until he overtook a truck without looking for traffic, Leading Sen Constable Kennedy said.
An ambulance driver coming the opposite direction had to brake and flash their lights as Williams overtook the truck.
The court heard when he was interviewed by police a month-and-a-half after the incident Williams told them he did not know he was being pursued, as his height and the type of van he was driving prevented him from seeing out the rear of it.
Williams’ solicitor Ian Michaelson told the court his client was having personal health issues at the time and was getting help.
He also told the court Williams did a lot of good work in the community and had not come under police notice since the incident.
Magistrate Peter Mithen fined Williams $750 and disqualified him from driving for six months.
“It’s difficult to understand you didn’t know the police were behind you,” he said.
However, he also described the work Williams did in the community as “exemplary”.
