The streets were quiet until the RAV4 came through.

There is a particular kind of chaos that unfolds in the small hours, when the streets are empty enough for speed to feel safe and quiet enough for the consequences to arrive without warning. In Adelaide's north-eastern suburbs on a Sunday morning, that chaos took the form of a grey Toyota RAV4 and a sequence of collisions that left a trail of damaged vehicles, an injured driver, and two police officers who found themselves under attack while trying to make an arrest.

The sequence began just after midnight on October 18, when police received reports that a grey Toyota RAV4 had collided with a vehicle on Montague Road at Ingle Farm before allegedly leaving the scene . A short time later, the same vehicle was allegedly involved in three more hit-run crashes: on North East Road at Hillcrest, Sudholz Road at Gilles Plains, and Cassie Street at Collinswood . A member of the public then reported seeing the vehicle being driven dangerously on the wrong side of the road toward the city at Medindie .

At about 12:20 a.m., police were called to Mann Road at North Adelaide following reports of a head-on collision between the Toyota and a green Mini . Patrols arrived quickly and located the driver. What followed, according to police allegations, was an arrest that turned violent: the woman punched one officer numerous times and bit another officer on the finger as she was being taken into custody . The officers were not seriously injured.

The driver of the Mini, a 55-year-old woman from Mawson Lakes, was taken to hospital for treatment of injuries that were not considered life-threatening . The 32-year-old woman from Pooraka, who was driving the Toyota, is expected to be charged with several offenses when she is medically fit, including three counts of driving without due care, three counts of speeding dangerously, two counts of failing to stop at a crash scene, and aggravated assault of a prescribed emergency worker .

South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas addressed the incident with unusual directness. "There is no level of tolerance that should be applied to the actions we saw unfold last night towards these police officers who are protecting everyone else in the community," he said . His statement was brief and unqualified, a reminder that even in a state accustomed to the ordinary friction of law enforcement, certain lines are understood to exist.

The investigation continues, and the charges have not yet been filed formally, as the woman was receiving medical treatment. What the courts will eventually weigh is a sequence of events that unfolded over a matter of minutes across multiple suburbs: four collisions, a wrong-way drive, a head-on crash, and an arrest that became a struggle. The Mini's driver will recover. The officers will return to duty. The Toyota will be examined, and the legal process will take its course.

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Sources: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, SA Police, OZ Arab Media