A learner driver will do prison time after police caught him speeding, with him even admitting to 'driving like a d**khead'.
Tarelle Lewis Charles Power-Williams has been named the 'most dangerous person' in South Australia after he was caught driving well over the speed limit on 30 January.
According to ABC, he was clocked at 253kmph (157mph) in a 110kmph (68mph) zone, and ended up being sentenced to a year and four months in prison for speeding and a number of other traffic offences.
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He was described as 'aggressively' switching lanes in his unregistered Holden V8 ute during peak traffic hours and only stopped because his gearbox blew up.
The 20-year-old admitted he'd been 'driving like a d**khead' to police after they caught up with him and will now spend time behind bars for it.
Power-Williams was also sentenced for an 18 minute police chase in 2021 where he drove at 140kmph (86mph) in a 60kmph (38mph) suburban zone which involved running red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road.
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With his speeding described by Magistrate Benjamin Sale as 'extraordinary' and 'attention grabbing', the judge decided that prison time was the only justifiable punishment for the 20-year-old's actions.
In addition to over a year behind bars, with the option for parole after seven months, Power-Williams has been forced to surrender his vehicle to the authorities and has been banned from driving for six years.
Once that six year period has expired, he will have to ask a court for permission to drive on Australia's roads again.
The magistrate said that 'if he keeps doing it that he will kill himself or he will kill somebody else'.
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He said: "The facts of your offending really speak for themselves and whilst the extraordinary speed of 253 kph is attention-grabbing, the other offence of driving in a manner dangerous to escape police pursuit is, due to the length and dangerousness of the driving in general, in my view, of equal if not greater seriousness."
Legal representatives for Power-Williams said their client was ashamed of his actions and had taken risks without thinking of the consequences.
The 20-year-old had issued a guilty plea to the array of charges against him which included illegal use of a motor vehicle, driving at extreme speed, speeding on a learner's permit and driving dangerously to evade police.
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Defence lawyer Andrew Williams added that his client had been trapped in 'a self-destructive cycle' of poverty, unemployment and difficulties with his mental health.
The magistrate acknowledged that Power-Williams had struggled with a 'very difficult upbringing', which included experiences of homelessness and drug addiction from a young age.
Topics: World News, Australia, Crime, Cars
Joe Harker