A 32-year-old man was arrested after a passenger riding in the back of a utility fell from the vehicle and sustained head injuries.

The man allegedly drove a Ford Falcon utility south along South Terrace and turned right into Kempe Street around 7.30pm last night. When he pulled up to the petrol bowser at the BP service station on the corner of Gap Road and Kempe Street his 29-year-old male passenger fell from the vehicle onto the concrete pavement. A nearby police patrol arrived at the scene and an ambulance was called.

While police were attending to the injured man the driver fled on foot running down Kempe Street to the Todd River. A police officer gave chase and arrested him a short time later.

He was found to have a blood alcohol level of .189 per cent.

He was charged with:

Drive with a high range blood alcohol content
Escape from lawful custody
Carry an adult in the open load space of a vehicle.

He appeared in the Alice Springs Magistrates Court today.

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