'Like a Hollywood Movie': Woman Rams Jeep Into Police Car to Free Inmate Being Transported

A prisoner in Canberra, Australia, escaped from custody after he and his alleged accomplices seemingly took inspiration from a number of different crime films.

The corrective services vehicle transporting 28-year-old Kane Quinn from the Alexander Maconochie Centre prison to a hospital was rammed into on Friday afternoon, and Quinn escaped with the driver of the other vehicle, Australia's ABC News reported.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) stated that just after 4 p.m., a white Jeep rammed into the side of the police vehicle being driven by 28-year-old Lila Rosemary Walto.

Annie di Silva, a hospitality worker who witnessed the incident, told ABC News: "I looked in my rearview mirror and saw this white Wrangler, Jeep speeding up behind me going way quicker than the 80-kilometre speed limit."

She said she saw the car "aggressively swerve and clip the back of the white Camry, and at this point the Camry span out onto the median strip. It then takes off in the other direction away from the hospital."

Detective Acting Inspector Shane Scott said in a statement that they had noticed the white Jeep following them, and "the corrective services officers were taking evasive action for theirs and the detainee's safety."

"This was a brazen attack which could have had very serious consequences for the people in the both cars, and potentially other motorists," he added. "Police have numerous resources throughout Canberra searching for the detainee and other offenders involved – our priority is to return this man to custody immediately."

Scott himself couldn't believe what had happened. "I've been a police officer for a long time here in Canberra, I can't recall anything like this," he said. "It's a little bit like a scene out of a Hollywood movie ... and it's certainly something that's of concern for us."

The statement reported that Quinn was handcuffed at the time of his escape, and the Jeep was located only about an hour after, as it had been abandoned and set on fire in a nearby suburb.

After police appealed for assistance from the public, they got word that the escapee was hiding out in a house in a neighborhood in Canberra, where he was found Friday night.

The AFP statement revealed that "specialist negotiators facilitated the safe surrender of the man."

Two women, one being Walto—an alleged accomplice in the escape—were also arrested at the scene, the statement said.

Quinn was charged with "escaping from lawful custody," and Walto "with three counts of assaulting frontline community service providers, dangerous driving, driving while suspended, taking a motor vehicle without consent, not giving particulars to the other driver after a crash, and damaging property," another statement from the police said.

Newsweek reached out to Australian Federal Police for additional comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.