"It went in [the driveway] so fast I thought it may have hit the house," he explained of the car. "I then noticed the windscreen was smashed.
"A male then got out of the driver's door, came around the back of the vehicle and grabbed some blankets from the rubbish pile and covered the rear of the car. The male then went in the house and came out soon after with more blankets, which he used to cover the front of the car."
The driver then grabbed a bag from the car, went inside and re-emerged minutes later wearing different clothes and sunglasses, he said.
The man's wife told police she was suspicious enough that she tried to call police, but the line was busy. When she saw a police helicopter flying overhead, she waved her arms in an effort to direct it to the neighbour's house, she said.
Both witnesses gave a general description of the driver that matched the defendant and the clothes he was arrested in, but neither indicated to police that they would be able to identify the man they saw.
The statements were read aloud by Crown prosecutor Sam McMullan two days after he started the trial by calling four witnesses to testify in person — including two constables who recalled the pursuit through residential streets in Massey, the subsequent crash and the vehicle speeding away. The vehicle was travelling at speeds up to 90km/h, sometimes on the wrong side of the road, the officers said.
Two motorists also recounted a vehicle speeding by with a broken windscreen.
Prosecutors are set to continue calling witnesses today.