Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell crashed his vehicle into a tree while trying to evade police, it has been revealed.
Pannell was airlifted to Alfred Hospital after the incident on June 6, where he underwent surgery.
Since, Pannell has been charged with theft and driving offences that he has signalled he will plead guilty to.
It has emerged Pannell's van struck a tree on Daylesford and Malmsbury Rd, near Wheatsheaf after an earlier police attempt to arrest him had failed.
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Police had instructed Pannell to stop and were attempting to intercept the ex-AFL official to issue an arrest warrant for allegedly being in contempt of court.
Pannell told the court he would plead guilty to charges relating to theft of a Hyundai Tucson valued at $45,000, a $2000 mobile phone and a laptop worth at $1500 - and also failing to stop for police.
Prior to these series of incidents, Pannell failed to appear in court regarding an investigation into an $8.7 million fraud saga involving a company he previously worked for.
Pannell was an AFL umpire for 14 years, officiating in over 200 games between 2005 to 2018.