By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A drugged-up driver who struck two police officers at a McDonald’s drive-through then led police on a “highly dangerous” pursuit through the South East has been jailed.
Courtney Pollard, 29, pleaded guilty to 17 charges at the County Court of Victoria including recklessly causing serious injury to an emergency worker and conduct endangering life.
On 21 July, sentencing judge Gavan Meredith described her conduct as a “highly dangerous, prolonged escapade”.
On bail at the time, the unlicensed Pollard had fled from police in an unregistered Ford Focus with false number plates earlier on 29 December 2020.
Later that afternoon, she was found reportedly slumped behind the wheel in a drug-affected state at the Carrum Downs drive-through.
When approached by four police officers, she says she panicked. She rammed her Focus into a parked police car, pinned an officer against a wall and ran over another officer’s leg before fleeing.
The pinned officer suffered a “crush injury” and ruptured calf, the latter officer’s ankle was seriously and multiply fractured.
It was fortunate they weren’t more extensively injured, Judge Meredith noted.
Pollard then fled erratically and at high-speed through Bangholme, Dandenong CBD, Clayton CBD and Burwood.
She reached speeds of up to 170 km/h on Thompsons Road, and 130 km/h on Huntingdale Road.
She ran multiple red lights, crossed median strips and double-white lines and side-swiped an oncoming car.
Numerous cars swerved to avoid her on the wrong-side of the road.
The 50-minute pursuit ended when Pollard crashed into a tree in Burwood. She ran into nearby homes, requesting a drink of water.
Police arrested her soon after, seizing 1-4 butanediol from the “extensively damaged” Focus.
Judge Meredith noted Pollard’s “lengthy” criminal history of dangerous driving, police pursuits, drugs, bail offences and dishonesty.
Pollard endured a dysfunctional, violent family life, which led to long-term abuse of ice, sedatives and GHB as well as bouts of homelessness.
Months before the pursuit, she’d got “really cooked” after a $167,000 TAC payout for several broken limbs in a motorbike crash.
She spent the money on two vehicles, drugs and gambling. That year, she was also assaulted while she slept.
Her PTSD, depressive and borderline personality disorders were noted.
Her conduct was drug-fuelled and marked by poor decision making, but there was not enough of a nexus to blame her mental health difficulties, the judge found.
Pollard was jailed for up to five years and four months, including a three-year non-parole period.
Her term includes 658 days already served in pre-sentence custody.
She was disqualified from driving for two years, and ordered to pay $10,000 compensation for the victim’s damaged cars.
