A neighbourhood fears further violence after a man allegedly crashed into several cars, including a police car, escalating offending on their Golden Point street.
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It's the latest in what one neighbour described as a series of dangerous incidents on their street, with cars, windows, and fences repeatedly smashed.
According to Victoria Police media, a 40-year-old man was arrested by the Ballarat Criminal Investigations Unit on Monday after the alleged offending.
Police said officers were called to Curnow Street, Golden Point, to reports of a man using a tyre iron or hammer to damage vehicles about 8.10pm on Sunday.
The man allegedly proceeded to deliberately drive a silver Ford Falcon station wagon into several vehicles and multiple residents had to take evasive action to avoid being struck, they said in a statement.Police arrived and the silver Ford fled the scene but was pulled over by another police unit on Geelong Road, Canadian.
Despite initially stopping, the vehicle allegedly reversed into the police car causing significant damage before fleeing the scene.
It's the second incident of people allegedly ramming police vehicles from the weekend - a 23-year-old Scarsdale woman was arrested after allegedly ramming an unmarked police car in Ballarat East.
According to Victoria Police media, the woman allegedly reversed her vehicle into the police vehicle after it pulled in attempting to speak to her on Main Road about 1.25am.
She was taken to hospital under police guard with non-life threatening injuries and the investigation is ongoing.
The police members were not physically injured during the incident.
That no one was hurt at all in either incident is a "miracle", one Curnow Street resident said, as at one stage they alleged the vehicle drove onto a neighbour's front yard.
The vehicle, which witnesses said had no registration plates, almost continued into the neighbour's house, but was able to pull out, hitting several parked cars on the way.
It was the second violent incident in as many weeks, the neigbhour added, with other attacks leading to broken windows, damaged vehicles, and at one point a few weeks ago, someone allegedly driving a vehicle through a couch left on the side of the road.
"We were on edge, it was not a great night's sleep, we were concerned about this guy coming back,' they told The Courier on Monday.
"It's not a relaxing way to spend your Sunday evening - it's amazing to me that so much happened and no one was injured.
"If I stop and think about how I feel about it, it's almost numb - these types of events shouldn't be so frequent that you're used to it.
"We're very concerned about it, we've considered selling."
IN THE NEWS
Ramming police vehicles became a specific offence in 2017, when new laws were introduced allowing police to charge offenders who put their safety at risk.
An offender who intentionally drives at a police officer can face up to 20 years' imprisonment, while recklessly driving at an officer can result in up to 10 years in jail.
There's a mandatory sentencing condition as well - anyone found guilty of using a vehicle to ram a police vehicle faces a non-parole period of at least two years.
Anyone with information that could assist police with their investigation is urged to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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