Witnesses provided valuable assistance for police leading to the arrest of a 34-year-old Wallsend woman on Wednesday following reports of a Cooks Hill crash.
At about 7.05am, a grey Hyundai was involved in a crash with an unattended parked vehicle on Dawson Street.
According to officers from Newcastle City Police District, witnesses saw the driver get out of the car, look at the damage and then attempt to drive away.
Police said the vehicle 'bunny hopped' a short distance, before stopping.
Following this, the woman allegedly walked away from the car, heading along Council Street, without exchanging details with the other vehicle's owner.
Witnesses followed the woman and contacted police who arrived shortly after, meeting up with her on Bull Street, Cooks Hill, and arresting her.
Police said she admitted to driving the car and that they found a knife in her handbag during a subsequent search.
Checks revealed the car had been reported as stolen in a Byron Bay break and enter offence on November 11, and that the woman was disqualified from driving until September 2021.
The woman returned a negative breath test but was taken to the Mater Hospital for the purpose of a blood test due to police suspicion on her sobriety.
She was then taken to Newcastle Police Station and later charged with five offences including negligent driving, not give particulars to other driver, drive conveyance without consent of owner, drive whilst disqualified and custody of knife in a public place.
She was refused bail and appeared at court on Wednesday.
Newcastle Court later released her on conditional bail to reappear on January 23.
