Geraldton fisherman Nelson Herangi jailed for 170km/h police chase

A Geraldton driver who reached speeds of up to 170km/h while being pursued by police will spend at least four months behind bars. Nelson Herangi on Thursday appeared in Geraldton Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to four charges related to the April 20, 2021 incident. Prosecutor Sgt Beau Jones said Herangi “accelerated heavily” after police pulled up behind his Holden Commodore and activated lights and sirens about 7.30pm. The 26-year-old fisherman sped to 140km/h on Anderson Street, Webberton, exceeding the speed limit by up to 90km/h. Sgt Jones said police continued to pursue Herangi, who “momentarily veered to the wrong side of the road” to overtake vehicles on the North West Coastal Highway. He accelerated to 170km/h and drove for about 9km on the highway before the front left wheel of his car fell off. Herangi and his passenger abandoned the car and fled the scene, with police dogs deployed to locate the pair. Sgt Jones said the pursuit lasted about seven minutes and Herangi made “full admissions” when apprehended by police. It was discovered his driver’s licence had been suspended and a bag containing 1g of cannabis was found in his pocket. Defence lawyer George Giudice said Herangi was “not in a good place mentally” at the time of the offending as he had not been able to access his medication during a 40-hour extended work shift. Mr Giudice said Herangi had recently experienced a “big life change” with the birth of his daughter in June and was now living with his “very supportive” fiancee. He said Herangi now carried additional scripts to ensure he would not be without his medication if he was required to do overtime at work in the future. Magistrate Tanya Watt said Herangi’s driving put his passenger, police and other road users at risk. “There are far too many fatalities on WA roads,” she said. “Seven minutes is a long time to be on the road going speeds of up to 170km/h.” She sentenced Herangi to 12 months jail and he will be eligible for parole after four months. He was also fined $400 for driving without a licence and $700 for the possession of cannabis.