Rescue workers attending a three-vehicle pile-up on the Newell Highway were forced to leap for their lives as a suspected drug-affected driver careered through the crash scene.
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The incident occurred while emergency workers were attempting to free a 59-year-old Queensland woman from the wreckage of her car.
Her sedan had collided with a utility and a semitrailer on the Mogriguy Creek Bridge north of Brocklehurst about 1pm Saturday.
With traffic backed up for 500 metres either side of the crash scene, one driver in a Sigma sedan continued through the roadblock at more than 100kph despite warnings to stop, police said.
A 74-year-old Queensland man, who only moments before had escaped serious injury when his utility was catapulted into the side of a semitrailer, was forced to jump back into his vehicle to avoid being hit by the errant driver.
The Sigma slammed into the open door of the utility before continuing north along the Newell Highway forcing police to give chase.
Three highway patrol vehicles from Dubbo were involved in the pursuit, which reached speeds up to 160 kph.
The chase ended about 10 kilometres south of Gilgandra when mechanical failure brought the Sigma to a halt, police said.
Twenty-five-year-old Tooraweenah man David Zell was taken into custody but refused to speak to police or submit to drug and alcohol tests, according to police.
Mr Zell was charged with two counts of dangerous driving, failure to supply a breath test, failure to supply a blood sample, resisting arrest and assaulting police.
Dubbo police sergeant John Wright said police at the scene had reason to suspect Mr Zell was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the offences.
"Due to the man's actions at the time of his arrest our officers had reason to suspect he might be under the influence of alcohol or drugs," Sgt Wright said.
"He was taken to Dubbo Base Hospital but refused to allow a doctor to examine him.
"Refusal to submit to a test is a serious offence equal to being under the influence of a high-range prescribed concentration of alcohol.
"Failure to supply a blood sample indicates he may have also been under the influence of a drug.
"There should be no reason not to give a sample unless you've got something to hide."
Mr Zell appeared in Dubbo Local Court yesterday and was bailed to appear again on December 2.
Sergeant Wright said the incident could have resulted in a "horiffic situation":
"The last thing our emergency services personnel expect in an accident situation is to have someone almost run them down while they are trying to save people's lives."
The Queensland woman injured in the accident was taken to Dubbo Base Hospital where she was reported as being in a stable condition last night.
The semitrailer driver and driver of the utility were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
In an otherwise incident-free weekend, police breath-tested hundreds of Dubbo motorists in their 'Operation Drink Drive II' without a single driver being charged.