Hunt Continues for Melbourne Bourke Street Mall Driver

Hunt Continues for Melbourne Bourke Street Mall Driver
Police at Bourke Street Mall in the CBD in Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 21, 2017. (Wayne Taylor/Getty Images)
AAP
By AAP
1/28/2021
Updated:
1/28/2021

Police are still hunting a driver who caused chaos by speeding down Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall, driving erratically and sending pedestrians fleeing.

A passenger who fled from the car during the incident also remains on the run.

In scenes that brought back chilling memories of the deadly 2017 Bourke St rampage, officers tried to pull over the green Mitsubishi Lancer on Swanston Street just before 5pm on January 28.

But the car sped away along Swanston Street before turning down Bourke Street.

A male passenger got out of the car and ran away, as police drew their firearms in a bid to stop the driver.

But he did a U-turn back along Bourke Street and escaped.

Officers found the car on Ashworth Street in Albert Park just before 7pm without number plates.

There were no reports of injuries from the incident, and police believe the driver was trying to escape arrest and did not intend to hurt people.

He was last seen in the St Kilda area, and police are urging anyone who has seen the car to call triple zero.

In 2017, James Gargasoulas used a stolen car to mow down and kill six people in the busy CBD mall.

Melbourne