The crime spree across Sydney’s south saw one man being stabbed, a police car rammed and a truck stolen. Police attempted to stop a man driving a 4WD because he was not displaying number plates at about 3pm (local time) on Friday on the Hume Highway, at Bass Hill in Sydney’s west. But the 24-year-old driver refused and rammed the police car before heading east towards Chullora. He then dumped the vehicle before stealing a supermarket delivery truck from Waterloo Road.
The man then made his way south, where he crashed a number of vehicles before stopping in West Botany Street at Rockdale.
He collided with up to five cars in Wiley Park, southwest Sydney, before smashing into several more on West Botany Street in nearby Rockdale.
During his violent rampage, the suspect stabbed a man in the stomach as he attempted to intervene outside Fitness First Gym in Rockdale.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Mick Fitzgerald said the bystander was “attempting to stop the offender from leaving the scene” when he was attacked.
The victim is currently in St George’s Hospital undergoing surgery, where he is believed to be in a stable condition.
Mr Fitzgerald said: “It was a man who was attempting to do everything he could to avoid arrest.
“My understanding is that police have confronted him, attempted to utilise the Taser, but prior to police using any of their actions, he has then stabbed himself.”
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say he is known to authorities and was known to have suffered from mental health issues.
Mr Fitzgerald added: “The attacker has a mental health background. He has not got an extensive criminal history, but he is known to police.
“It was a man doing everything he could to avoid arrest. His actions, particularly when he stabbed an innocent person, are the actions of someone we believe who had mental health issues.
“It would appear to us that the offender wasn’t trying to intentionally harm people along the way. He could have, if he wished to, harm a great deal of people.”
Horrified witnesses told how they watched the terrifying scenes unfold.
Chris Burton, a tradesman who went to the victim’s aid, told Channel 10 News: “He was laying there, like, ‘I’m going numb’. It was a good knife. It went all the way in.
“I put my hand on (the wound), sat him down and told him what my mother taught me, breathing techniques.”
One witness described the attacker as “looking crazy and frazzled” before he carjacked a red taxi and fled the scene.