Motorway carjacking failure caught on police camera

TWEED HEADS, Australia, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Australian police released video of a fleeing suspect attempting a carjacking and ending up being thrown to the ground by a car on a busy stretch of highway.

New South Wales police said John Tough, 32, and Calin McCabe, 20, led police on a 93-mile chase that started in Queensland after a string of carjackings and their stolen Mitsubishi Lancer was brought to a halt on the Pacific Motorway in Tweed Heads when they drove over road spikes placed by police.

Tough can be seen on the video, taken from a police helicopter, firing off a semiautomatic handgun at police and other motorists, causing one car to make an abrupt stop and another to slam into its rear.

The suspect then pointed his gun at another car in an apparent carjacking attempt, but the vehicle struck him, knocking Tough to the ground and sending the gun flying through the air.

The man was arrested before he could retrieve the weapon, police said.

McCabe was arrested without incident.

The men were charged with intent to murder, discharging a firearm to avoid arrest, attempted car-jacking and a violation of Skye's law, which is aimed at strengthening punishments for suspects who lead police on dangerous high speed chases.