Magistrate Declares 'Only Luck' Prevented Fatalities in Wollongong Police Chase
A magistrate has expressed astonishment that no one was killed during a chaotic police pursuit through Wollongong that saw a driver high on ice reach dangerous speeds in residential areas before being subdued with a taser.
Dangerous Driving and Violent Confrontation
Layne Buckley, a 26-year-old Balgownie man, appeared via audio-visual link from prison in Wollongong Local Court on February 5, dressed in prison greens. He pleaded guilty to multiple charges including police pursuit, reckless driving, assaulting police, driving under the influence of drugs, and possessing knives in public.
The incident began on July 24, 2025, when officers from the Raptor South squad were patrolling Wollongong around 10pm. Court documents state they spotted Buckley behind the wheel of a silver Volkswagen Golf convertible at an intersection of Harbour Street and Cliff Road.
Upon noticing police presence, Buckley immediately sped through a red light, initiating a 41-minute pursuit that spanned multiple Wollongong suburbs. During the chase, he reached speeds of 140km/h in residential areas and repeatedly swerved onto the wrong side of the road for distances of up to 100 metres at a time.
Dramatic Conclusion with Weapons Discovery
Buckley managed to avoid several sets of road spikes deployed by police until his left tyres clipped a set placed along the Princes Highway at Corrimal. The impact caused the tyres to blow off their rims, forcing the vehicle to come to a stop at the intersection of Bellambi Street and Foothills Road in Tarrawanna.
As officers approached the disabled vehicle, it rolled backwards, causing one policeman to fall to the ground. When police attempted to extract Buckley from the car, he head-butted an officer and continued to resist arrest. Police deployed a taser to his torso, which proved ineffective, before using a dry-stun technique and physically pulling him from the vehicle.
With Buckley still resisting, officers administered capsicum spray before finally securing him in handcuffs. He was transported to Wollongong Police Station and later transferred to hospital after confessing to having taken methamphetamine hours before the incident. He remained under police guard in hospital until medically cleared.
During a subsequent search of Buckley's vehicle, police discovered a cache of weapons including a machete, a meat cleaver, and a silver metal bar.
Courtroom Consequences and Sentencing
Magistrate David Williams told the court he was "astonished" that nobody had been killed during Buckley's dangerous escape attempt. "Lives were put at risk. It was only luck that Mr Buckley isn't facing more serious charges if there had been a collision," Magistrate Williams stated emphatically.
With Buckley on parole at the time of the offences, his defence lawyer conceded that jail time was warranted but asked the court to consider his client's early guilty plea and time already spent on remand. Buckley had written a letter of apology to the court, which Magistrate Williams acknowledged conveyed genuine remorse.
"People often say sorry hoping they'll get a lesser sentence, but I don't think that's you. You've shown insight into which way your life is going and how you can change it," Magistrate Williams told Buckley.
Facing an unavoidable full-time custodial sentence, Buckley was jailed for 21 months with a non-parole period of one year, backdated to his arrest date. This makes him eligible for parole on July 23, 2026.
The case highlights the dangers of drug-impaired driving and the risks posed to both law enforcement and the public during high-speed pursuits in urban areas.
