Police are hunting a man and woman who crashed a stolen car in Townsville and carjacked a good Samaritan who stopped to help them.
It's alleged the pair were part of a group who stole two sedans from a home at Forrest Beach around 5am on Monday and managed to evade police in a road chase later that morning after being spotted driving at excessive speed.
The group allegedly later stole petrol from a service station at Wulguru before being involved in a crash at Garbutt and fleeing the scene.
Around 7pm it's alleged one of the cars, a gold sedan, crashed at an intersection at Condon and the male driver and female passenger abandoned the vehicle.
Police say they then carjacked a 63-year-old woman who had stopped to render assistance, pulling her out of her black four-wheel drive and driving off in the vehicle.
A 17-year-old male has been taken into custody in relation to the incidents on Tuesday.
He is not believed to have been involved in the actual incidents, but could provide information about those who were.
Police believe a core group of people have been involved in several incidents in the Townsville area since New Year's Day, culminating in the carjacking.
Detective Acting Inspector Chris Hicks said the escalating nature of the incidents is worrying.
"These offenders are criminals, they don't care about the consequences of their actions, and it's very concerning that their behaviour has escalated to assaults on people that are driving their own vehicles around," Act Insp Hicks said.
AAP