A pregnant 19-year-old woman faced court today after a high-speed police chase with a 10-month-old on board, reaching speeds of 168km/h in the NSW Hunter region yesterday.
At around 12.10pm yesterday, Kirsty Lee Parker, who was on her L-plates, led police patrolling the M1 motorway in Somersby into a pursuit after being spotted going 168km/h in a 110km/h zone and failing to stop.
At one point, a passenger in the vehicle was allegedly spotted hanging out of the speeding car, filming the pursuit before it was later posted to social media.
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Police deployed road spikes north on Swansea Bridge, but the vehicle dodged them.
Shortly after, police deployed road spikes again in Pelican, which were also avoided by the vehicle as it continued towards Belmont.
The car came to a halt after allegedly crashing into another vehicle while turning onto Lake Road on the Pacific Highway.
Police later located the vehicle abandoned out the front of the driver's home on Moorilla Close in Windale.
Five people were located near the vehicle and arrested, including a 10-month-old baby who was in the vehicle.
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There were no reported injuries following the incident.
Police have told 9News that they were unaware the baby was in the vehicle, and if they did, they would have approached the incident differently.
Parker is facing an array of charges, including learner driver exceeding speeds of 45km/h, driving with two passengers without fastened seatbelts, driving recklessly, and not complying with directions to stop the vehicle.
The four passengers were released without charge.
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Parker faced court today by video-link, yawning and handcuffed from Newcastle police station.
Police prosecutors opposed a bid for bail, stating there was a risk Parker could pose further damage to the community.
It was her second court appearance this week after being sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order for shoplifting on Monday.
The court was also told that she is 11 weeks pregnant and that her criminal record contains multiple driving offences.
Parker was denied bail despite her lawyer, Adam Ryan, arguing that she was vulnerable in custody due to her young age and background.
"The police did see her getting out of the driver's door, however, nothing in the facts says she was actually seen driving the vehicle," said Ryan.
She is set to face court again on October 8.
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