A 15-YEAR-OLD boy was allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen car when it sparked a chase in Newcastle and hit a police vehicle.
Police allege the teenager had four passengers with him in a Nissan Pathfinder - a 14-year-old, two 15-year-olds and an 18-year-old - when officers tried to approach the car at Hamilton before dawn on January 26.
Newcastle police were patrolling Fowler Street just before 5am when they noticed the SUV stopped in the middle of the roadway.
Police approached the vehicle but allege it sped off, and a chase was launched.
Officers pursued the Pathfinder through local streets before coming to a stop on Gosford Street at Adamstown, police said.
The 15-year-old boy police claim was behind the wheel, and the four teenage boys that were in the vehicle, allegedly tried to run before the Pathfinder crashed into a police vehicle.
All four teenage boys were arrested and taken to Newcastle Police Station.
The alleged driver was charged with police pursuit, driving a vehicle taken without consent, and hindering or resisting a police officer executing their duty.
The four other teens were charged with being carried in a vehicle taken without consent.
One of the 15-year-old boys was further charged with aggravated break-and-enter and commit serious indictable offence.
The four teenagers were refused bail and spent the night in custody before fronting bail courts on Saturday, with the three younger boys in a children's court and the older boy in Newcastle Local Court.
The NSW Police Force's Operation Australia Day 2024 unfolded between January 25 and 28.
