Police officer, 27, is seriously injured after being run over by a stolen car

A man has been arrested after allegedly hitting a 27-year-old police officer with a stolen car in Melbourne’s east.

Acting Commander Matthew Baynes said police officers responded to reports of a stolen car spotted in the car park of the Burvale Hotel in Nunawading at around 2.20am on Thursday, when the incident occurred.

The car, a white Honda Civic hatch, was said to have been stolen from outside a property on Langley St in the Ringwood East area at around 1.50am.

Police cordoned off the parking lot before attempting to arrest two men.

The officer was reportedly struck while attempting to set up a tire deflation device to stop the stolen vehicle.

A 32-year-old Preston man was arrested at the scene and has been charged with theft of a motor vehicle and theft of petrol.

He was bailed to appear at Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on November 6.

A 20-year-old Ringwood East man, believed to be the driver, was arrested in Ringwood at around 4pm on Thursday.

He is currently in custody and the investigation is ongoing.

Supplied editorial Man arrested after officer was hit by car in Nunawading. Image: Supplied / Victoria Police Media Unit

The 27-year-old police officer was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his upper body, where he remains.

Acting Commander Baynes said the two men, who were in the hotel at the time, went outside and one got into the stolen car before police could arrest him.

“A male Senior Constable was setting up a tire deflation device at the Springvale Rd exit of the car park when a man returned to the stolen car,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

The man then drove “erratically through the parking lot and eventually onto Springvale Rd,” Baynes said.

‘Police were deploying stop sticks at the time and the vehicle drove erratically and in an attempt to avoid the stop sticks collided and struck one of our members.’

The Honda was discovered abandoned a short time later on Tucker Rd in Vermont.

Mr Baynes said the driver was driving at “high speed” and “very erratically” and that the police officer – a senior officer in the Eastern Region – suffered “significant injuries”, including “upper body injuries”.

‘After the member was hit, he was thrown into the air and then landed heavily. resulting in his injuries,” Mr Baynes said.

‘It’s really a tragic circumstance.

“He is doing well and is currently in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, however serious the injuries may be. It’s going to take some time to recover just because he’s doing his job.”

The other man, a 32-year-old from Preston, who was allegedly traveling in the stolen car when it arrived at the hotel, was arrested by police.

“He has been charged with vehicle theft and also an additional theft of gasoline,” Baynes said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or has dashcam, CCTV footage or information, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.