A man will face Tweed Heads Local Court after crashing a car carrying two children while driving over 170km/h with more than double the blood alcohol limit.
Around 3pm Saturday (June 27) police patrolling the southbound lanes of the Pacific Highway at Sleepy Hollow registered a silver Holden Clubsport in the northbound lanes travelling at more than 170km/h.
Police made a u-turn and pursued the Holden, which had run into with a wire rope safety barrier a short distance up the highway.
Debris had been scattered across the road, stopping all northbound traffic.
Despite the speed and severity of the accident, the 35-year-old driver from Mermaid Waters in Queensland and his three passengers – a woman, a 10-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy – were uninjured in the crash.
The driver was breath-tested and returned a reading of 0.107.
He was subsequently charged with mid range drink-driving and exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h.
He was bailed to appear in Tweed Heads Local Court on July 27
Car explodes into flames
In an unrelated incident on the same section of highway, a man driving south near Yelgun on Saturday morning pulled over and jumped out of his car just seconds before it was engulfed in flames.
ABC radio reports the man had noticed an unusual warning light on the dash and subsequently saw flames coming from the back of the vehicle before he pulled over.
