RODNEY Johnson has pleaded guilty to using a stolen semi-trailer to lead police on a 100 kilometre chase along the New England Highway before causing a fiery trail of destruction, smashing into shopfronts and parked cars and decimating a Singleton street.
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Johnson, 30, appeared in Newcastle Local Court via audio visual link from the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to 11 counts, including police pursuit, using an offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, failing to stop and assist after impact causing injury, damaging property, stealing a motor vehicle and dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
Ten other less serious offences were withdrawn by the DPP.
Johnson, who was represented by solicitor David Malcolm, will appear in Newcastle District Court on November 1 to get a sentence date next year.
FROM THE SCENE:
The usually peaceful street of Singleton looked more like a war zone on the morning of October 11 last year after an out-of-control and stolen semi-trailer crashed into cars and buildings before catching fire, injuring eight people.
Terrifying dash-cam footage taken from another truck showed the stolen semi forming a fireball as it careered into a shop front and sent power poles and traffic lights flying.
And from the huge cloud of smoke emerged Johnson, miraculously relatively unscathed.
He was pulled from the cab of another truck by a large number of police and arrested.
Despite an application for bail in the NSW Supreme Court in July, Johnson has remained behind bars.
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