South Street crash: Man fighting for life after police car slams into vehicle in Leeming as pursuit goes wrong

A tradie has described how an unmarked police car travelling at high-speeds slammed into another car during a pursuit that went horribly wrong in Perth’s south and has left an elderly man fighting for his life.

The serious incident unfolded on South Street in Leeming about 10.50am on Monday. It is believed police were pursuing a vehicle in the area at the time.

A man in his 80s had to be cut from a white car by firefighters after the vehicle he was driving was struck by the unmarked WA Police car. The force of that collision resulted in a car’s engine being thrown into the air before it landed near the roadway.

The driver was taken to Royal Perth Hospital under priority conditions. It is understood he is fighting for his life and since been admitted to the intensive care unit.

St John WA said a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s were taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital under normal road conditions. It is understood the pair are police officers.

Tradie Owen Fallis, who was working nearby, said the crash was “frightening” and recounted hearing the sound of a car’s engine sliding across the road as he worked nearby.

“I turned my head around, it was nuts,” he said.

“The car’s front was totally ripped off, the engine was 30m at least away from the car. The smell of hot oil was in the air . . it was quite frightening.

”The heavy block of the engine, you could definitely hear that just get ripped out of the car and scrape across the floor, which I guess made it sound like a car was rolling towards us.”

“I thought that somebody (inside the white car) might have passed away, just based on the sheer impact and the sound . . just because it hit the front of the vehicle, the person inside, he visually looked okay but definitely will have injuries.

“I think the police officers got out of the car relatively quickly.”

Mr Fallis said members of the public rushed to the aid of the civilian who was injured, but that police and paramedics quickly locked the area down.

“The car that (the police) were in, the front end, it was definitely damaged, but not as much as the car that they hit. They were in a bigger vehicle . . . I don’t know what speed they were going, but it seems like they were probably going over 100km/h just based on the damage that was done,” he said.

“The officers that came out weren’t wearing the standard uniforms, so they must have been in some sort of undercover pursuit because there was about four other (police) cars following just as it had happened.

Both damaged vehicles were a large distance apart in the vicinity of South Street. Major crash officers are understood to be investigating the cause of the collision. It is unclear if any arrests have been made or if a pursuit had to be called off.

WA Police have not released a statement more than four hours after the incident or confirmed whether the conduct of the officers is subject to an investigation.

The police car had a smashed windscreen and appeared to have taken out a sign, which was wedged underneath the vehicle.

Authorities have closed South Street westbound between Vahland Avenue and Beasley Road.

Main Roads says traffic is heavy in the area.