WA News

Road reopened after booze bus bomb scare

Hepburn Avenue has reopened to traffic after a bomb scare involving a vehicle stopped at a booze bus caused the street to be locked-down for two hours. 

Witness accounts claimed a vehicle crashed into the booze bus and flipped around 2.30pm with police condoning off the area and telling pedestrians there was a bomb in the vehicle. 

A police spokeswoman, however, said the vehicle involved in the incident did not crash into the booze bus, but was searched after the 25-year-old driver returned a positive road-side drug test. 

"A red vehicle has been stopped, there is concern about something in the vehicle," she said.

"Specialist units are at the scene."

The driver allegedly had no authority to drive and was found to have a home-made bomb in his vehicle that was later deemed by the police bomb squad to be safe. 

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He and another man are in custody assisting police with their inquiries. 

According to a witness account from Phil Hilton, who drove through the area when the incident occurred, the driver tried to make a U-turn away from the booze bus and crashed.

"He tried to do a runner from the booze bus, did a U-turn, bumped the curb and slammed into the booze bus and the car flipped onto its roof," he said.

"The driver crawled out the passenger side and tried to runaway."

Police deny the vehicle crashed into the booze bus, which was set up between Kingsley and Barridale drives eastbound on Hepburn Avenue in Greenwood.

Main Roads at 3.15pm closed Hepburn Avenue in both directions near Kingsley Drive causing traffic chaos for drivers exiting the Mitchell Freeway.It was reopened at 5pm. 

Mr Hilton said there were several police cars surrounding the car, with four police officers also gathered around the rear of a police pod. 

Since he drove past the incident he has been unable to return, with several police officers instructing him to move away from the area. 

"The whole area is in lock-down," Mr Hilton said. 

"The car, which is a red BMW, is now parked in the median strip on its wheels... there's a bomb disposal vehicle next to it." 

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