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Early this morning, police noticed a Toyota Corolla with counterfeit license plates traveling down West Street in Hadfield. It was around 4 a.m. when officers decided to intercept the vehicle, according to their report.
As the officers approached from behind to perform additional checks, the driver allegedly accelerated and fled the scene.
The police vehicle did not engage in a chase with the speeding Corolla.
However, shortly after, the driver lost control, causing the car to flip over and crash into a power pole at the intersection of West Street and Glenroy Road.
Surveillance footage captured the dramatic moment as the vehicle struck the pole, sending sparks flying and flipping into the air before landing upside down.
The driver and his passenger, both 22-year-old males, sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the crash. They were taken to hospital.
“I heard a big screech, big crash, little bit of commotion,” a nearby resident told 9News.
“I kind of hopped up out of bed, and ran out the front, then I heard ‘get out of the car, get out of the car’.”
“It must’ve been over the speed limit of 50. Definitely over, maybe 100,” another witness alleged.
Firefighters, paramedics, police and a power company swarmed the scene to contain a fuel leak from the car and fix the power pole, which had split.
Locals were left without power this morning and shops were unable to open.
Two jerry cans of fuel were found in the back seat of the Corolla after the crash, police said.
Police confirmed the Corolla was stolen from Dandenong on December 10.
The investigation remains ongoing.
No charges have been laid.