Seven survive serious crash
A delivery van driver has revealed how he is shocked to survive a crash between his car, and a stolen hatchback carrying six people, in Adelaide's north-western suburbs this morning.
Damien Cheatle, 43, was driving to the airport for work from his Paralowie home, when he drove through the intersection of South Rd and Torrens Rd at Ridleyton, at about 4 o'clock.
What happened next was unbelievable.
"Just seeing flashing lights, looked to my right and head lights hit me within half a second."
"I just remember going for the ride and ending up here."
His car was t-boned by a stolen Nissan Tiida, that was being pursued by South Australian police.
Mr Cheatle's van flipped over, landing on its side in the middle of a nearby McDonald's drive through.
He says he's just lucky to be alive, suffering only a broken wrist.
"I'm just gobsmacked, just the damage and that I walked away from it." he said.
Police chase
Superintendent Howard Davies, said police patrols saw the Nissan driving along Hanson Rd, at Mansfield Park in Adelaide's north-western suburbs, at 'a fast rate of speed'.
"As police attempted to stop that vehicle, it failed to stop for police and was subsequently pursued, as it was making its way east along Torrens Road," he said.
When the car was driving through the Torrens Rd and South Rd intersection it slammed into an Australian Air-Express delivery van, flipping the van over and into the nearby McDonald's drive-through.
Police say the crash happened less than two minutes after their pursuit of the car began.
While the van flipped over, the Nissan Tiida crashed into a nearby speed camera.
The six passengers inside the dark grey hatchback, four males and two females, were all taken to hospital.
The two females, both 15-years-old, one from Taperoo, the other from Renown Park, were both taken to the Women's and Children's hospital with serious injuries.
A 19-year-old man and 16-year-old boy both from Rosewater, a 17-year-old boy from Taperoo and a 15-year-old boy from Mansfield Park were all taken to the Royal Adelaide hospital, also with serious injuries.
South Australian police defended their pursuit of the vehicle, travelling at speeds of around 100 km/h.
A police spokesperson said officers were patrolling the area around Mansfield Park, following a recent spate of car thefts and later today confirmed the Nissan Tiida was stolen from a property at nearby Rosewater.
The intersection was completely closed until midday, causing peak-hour chaos for drivers for around five hours, as traffic sat grid-locked across the north-western suburbs.
South Rd is a major arterial road in Adelaide and is one of the city's busiest for heavy vehicles.
Police ask anyone who may have seen the Nissan Tiida travelling on Hanson Rd or Torrens Rd before the crash to contact BankSA Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or go to their website.
