Man (35) arrested after three officers injured in Ballymena vehicle ramming incident

By The Newsroom
Published 10th Nov 2023, 10:14 BST
Updated 10th Nov 2023, 10:27 BST
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A 35-year-old man has been arrested in Ballymena on suspicion of offences including the attempted murder of three police officers, aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage and dangerous driving.

Local Policing Team officers were responding to a disturbance at a house on Rathkeel Road at around 11.35pm on Thursday (November 9) when a red Vauxhall Vectra was driven directly at one of the officers outside the home, forcing him to jump out of the way of the approaching vehicle.

The Vectra continued for a short distance before ramming a stationary police vehicle, with the force of the collision causing the PSNI car to strike an officer nearby and forcing another one to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the Vectra.

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The suspect, police added, then continued in his vehicle in the direction of Broughshane, losing a tyre on the way, which in turn struck another car travelling along the same road. Police were able to successfully pursue the vehicle and deploy a stinger device. The car then collided with the fence of a house on Whinsmoor Road and stopped.

The red Vauxhall Vectra collided with the fence of a house. Photo release by PSNIThe red Vauxhall Vectra collided with the fence of a house. Photo release by PSNI
The red Vauxhall Vectra collided with the fence of a house. Photo release by PSNI
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The driver was arrested and remains in police custody this morning (Friday). Police say he will also questioned in connection with the originally reported disturbance at the Rathkeel Road property.

Chief Inspector Adrian Bryan said: "Despite being injured during the incident, all three of the officers involved remained on duty for the remainder of the night. The work police officers do to keep people safe and protect the public should never be taken for granted."