Man with outstanding warrants arrested after police pursuit and crash in Sydney's west

A man with outstanding warrants has been arrested and a critical incident declared after a police pursuit and crash in Sydney's north-west on Friday. NSW Police said the 33-year-old man from the Lithgow area was known to police and has a number of outstanding arrest warrants for domestic violence offences.

Just after 5am, police said the man who was allegedly driving a stolen red Mazda hatchback, was parked on the Great Western Highway in Bowenfels, a suburb in the city of Lithgow. He drove off when approached by officers, according to police, prompting an extensive patrol of the area after police lost sight of the vehicle.

At 7am, the car was spotted again on Wirriway Street in South Littleton, before it allegedly drove at officers before ramming a police vehicle. Assistant Commissioner Gavin Wood said the officers had to \"jump out of the way basically to save themselves\".

NSW Police said in a statement the car continued on to Bells Line of Road where a brief pursuit was started by Chifley Highway Patrol officers about 8:30am, before being terminated due to what police say was a \"dangerous manner of driving\". Police said a second pursuit began as the Mazda headed towards Faulconbridge — but was again suspended due to safety concerns.

The car was tracked to Penrith where police used road spikes on Castlereagh and Cranebrook Road but the vehicle, police say, kept driving. A short time after, the vehicle veered onto the opposite side of the road and was involved in a collision with three other vehicles — a Toyota SUV, a Sprinter van and a Hyundai.

Assistant Commissioner Gavin Wood described the man's driving as \"erratic\". Assistant Commissioner Wood described the man's driving throughout the morning as \"erratic\". \"At the time of the collision the offending driver of the red Mazda was ejected from the vehicle and was subsequently arrested by police a short time later,\" he said.

\"When the vehicle crashed police were not in pursuit of that vehicle, the vehicle itself at that stage was being surveilled by PolAir.\" Assistant Commissioner Wood denied earlier reports that the man tried to run from the scene, saying \"the place where he landed from the ejection was where he was arrested\".

The man was treated by paramedics for serious head injuries before being taken to Westmead Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition with a fractured neck. The driver of the SUV sustained minor hand injuries and the other two drivers were uninjured. Police said it was \"unknown\" if the driver of the Mazda would survive.

A critical incident, to be overseen by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission and Prefessional Standards Command, has been declared. Investigations into the incident continue and a crime scene has been established. Police are appealing for anyone with dashcam footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.