A WANTED man has been charged after an alleged dramatic daytime chase through Newcastle West which ended in a crash on Thursday, February 8.
A 34-year-old will face Newcastle Local Court on Friday after officers swarmed on him just around the corner from the crash site at the intersection of Hunter and Florence streets.
He faces a range of counts, including leading police on a pursuit, assaulting officers, possessing a firearm, and driving with an expired licence.
Highway patrol police were on Hunter Street in Newcastle West about 3.10pm when they allegedly tried to stop a Honda Accord because the man driving was wanted for domestic violence allegations.
Witnesses reported hearing tyres screeching as the driver of the vehicle allegedly took off, and highway patrol officers gave chase under lights and siren.
The Accord was brought to a sudden stop a short time later after it mounted the footpath on the busy Hunter Street and crashed into a building.
Police allege the driver escaped the wreck and ran from the scene, but officers were in hot pursuit on foot and he was arrested nearby.
Uniformed police and plain-clothes detectives swarmed the crash site and the scene of the arrest on Thursday afternoon.
Fire and Rescue NSW crews and ambulance paramedics were also called.
Police were seen combing the wreck of the car and searching the boot, collecting items in evidence bags.
A tow truck was seen loading the Accord and removing it from where it was wrapped around the corner of the building shortly before 3.30pm.
One eastbound lane of Hunter Street was closed while emergency services worked, but it reopened later in the afternoon.
It comes just a day after a chase along Hunter Street and Honeysuckle, at about 11am on Wednesday, ended in a man being arrested and an allegedly stolen ute and paintball guns being seized.
