A pedestrian was allegedly struck on Exhibition Street before boys abandoned car and fled on foot, police say
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Four teenage boys have been arrested after a car chase through Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and into the city centre, which ended when they abandoned the allegedly stolen BMW in the middle of Bourke Street mall.
Police said they had first become aware of the teenagers about 12.30pm on Monday, when they saw them allegedly driving erratically in a BMW on the Eastern Freeway in Doncaster.
Police pursued the vehicle to the central business district, where a pedestrian was allegedly struck on Exhibition Street, before the teenagers stopped the car on the busy mall and ran from the scene.
The teenagers – a 15-year-old, a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds from the Bendigo and Yarra Ranges areas – were arrested a short time later outside a shopping centre on Lonsdale Street.
They were being interviewed by police on Monday afternoon.
The pedestrian, a woman, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said they believed the car had allegedly been stolen on Sunday from the Boroondara local government area in Melbourne’s east.
Footage posted on social media showed the BMW 4WD in the middle of the tram tracks on Monday afternoon, surrounded by tactical police officers, with its windscreen smashed.
Dozens of pedestrians were gathered at the scene.
Route 86 and 96 trams were briefly suspended along Bourke Street but resumed just after 2.30pm, according to Yarra Trams. It said delays may occur as it worked to restore the timetable.

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