Serial driving offender Dylan Mitchel Dyer jailed for riding into oncoming traffic in Albany police chase

A 27-year-old serial driving offender has been jailed and permanently stripped of his licence after riding a motorcycle into oncoming traffic on a busy Albany street while being chased by police. Appearing in Albany Magistrate’s Court last Thursday via video-link from Albany Regional Prison, Dylan Mitchel Dyer pleaded guilty to three charges, including reckless driving to escape police pursuit. Police prosecutor Sgt Dave Loverock told the court that about 12 noon on March 16, Dyer was riding an unregistered Yamaha motorcycle alongside a second rider on McLeod Street when he was spotted by police. Police tried to stop Dyer, who accelerated on to Wollaston Road, crossing repeatedly on to the wrong side of the road before turning into oncoming traffic on Middleton Road. Sgt Loverock said Dyer slid to a stop in front of a home on Middleton Road where he abandoned the motorcycle and tried to jump the back fence before being arrested. At the time of the offence, Dyer was on a suspended 11-month prison sentence and had a suspended licence. His conviction for reckless driving to escape police pursuit carries a mandatory six-month prison term. It was his third reckless driving conviction, triggering a permanent licence disqualification. Defence lawyer Wendy Stewart told the court her client acknowledged he had “no excuse for his behaviour”. “He knew he had no licence ... he didn’t think about that at the time, he just kept driving,” she said. Magistrate Tanya Watt said Dyer’s behaviour put other people’s safety at risk and urged him not to “become another statistic”. “It wasn’t a long pursuit and that was very fortunate because it limited the amount of people you put at risk,” she said. Ms Watt sentenced Dyer to 16 months in prison, backdated to March 16 when he was taken into custody.