A Ballarat driver has admitted he aggressively chased an ambulance, putting the paramedics in fear of their safety, after they initially tried to help him.
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Trent Bunney, 27, believed the ambulance officers had his mobile telephone when he chased their vehicle and tried to side-swipe it along Wendouree’s most busy streets earlier this year.
The ambulance officers had attended Stockland Wendouree at 1.20pm on February 3 after Bunney was found unconscious and unresponsive in Kmart.
He had a mobile telephone and shopping items nearby while the paramedics attended to him.
But Bunney refused treatment, ignored the paramedics and was advised to leave the shopping complex, which he did when he got behind the wheel of a Ford delivery vehicle.
As the paramedics were leaving, Bunney tried to block their ambulance. They activated the duress button due to safety fears.
During the ordeal, Bunney tried to side-swipe the ambulance in Howitt Street, drove through a red light to overtake them and mounted a kerb in Gillies Street.
The paramedics, still in fear of their safety, eventually got away and drove straight to the Ballarat Police Station.
They described the ordeal as extremely upsetting and it had left them feeling shaken.
Earlier on January 14, police officers tried to stop Bunney driving a white Nissan vehicle in Peak Street, Ballarat, but he drove away at a fast speed.
In April, the Ballarat Magistrates Court gave Bunney a sentence indication of 15 months' jail with a minimum of nine months if he pleaded guilty to 10 charges.
He did not accept the indication but on Wednesday he pleaded guilty to five charges, including recklessly conduct endangering serious injury, driving while disqualified and failing to stop on police direction.
The court was told Bunney had had an extremely disruptive childhood and at 18-years-old, was involved in a serious car accident that claimed the life of the driver and his best friend.
The car accident in 2011 and a relationship break-up led to his daily drug habit, the court was told.
Bunney’s defense counsel said he had shown remorse, was a young man, had shown hope in employment prospects and had a disadvantaged background.
He has been been in custody for more than seven months where he has produced clean drug testing samples.
Bunney, who has a history of not complying with community corrections orders, will be sentenced on Thursday.