√Police charge TikTok star over “childish” clown car stunts

A Sunshine Coast man has been charged by Queensland Police after allegedly performing “childish” and “foolish” stunts in a defective ‘clown car’ on public roads – with nine of his mates facing almost $28,000 in fines.

Police have charged a Sunshine Coast-based social media star with 11 offences relating to his alleged operation of a ‘clown car’ – months after footage showing the man and his group of friends performing stunts was posted online.

The videos were slammed by Sunshine Coast District Superintendent Craig Hawkins, who called the behaviour “childish” and “foolish”.

In a media statement, Queensland Police allege Sammy Eyles purchased the non-road legal car to perform stunts on public roads, which were subsequently recorded and uploaded to social media.

The first video of the car appeared on Mr Eyles’s TikTok account in late April – attracting more than 1.4 million views.

This footage was followed by a short clip of the alleged stunts being posted to TikTok (below), although a full video appears to have been removed.

@sammyeyles Testing went well… ???? #SID ♬ original sound – Sammy Eyles

In May, Mr Eyles uploaded footage of himself being pulled over by police while driving the car, claiming he was only issued a warning before proceeding to drive the vehicle back to his home.

According to Queensland Police, a search warrant was executed at Mr Eyles’s Image Flat residence on 30 September 2022, leading to the ‘clown car’ and another vehicle being seized.

Queensland Police arrested Mr Eyles and charged him with 11 offences – which included three counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, two counts of careless driving, two counts of driving with an unrestrained passenger and multiple defect-related offences.

The 29-year-old was granted bail and scheduled to appear in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on 12 December.

An image of the ‘clown car’, uploaded by Queensland Police

Mr Eyles was not the only person to be charged, with Queensland Police issuing 70 Traffic Infringement Notices to nine more alleged participants in the videos, resulting in the combined loss of 99 demerit points.

The fines have cost the group approximately $27,800, or more than $3000 between each of the nine individuals.

“Putting not only your own life at risk but those of your mates for the sake of social media notoriety is childish and selfish behaviour,” Superintendent Hawkins said in a media statement.

“Sharing these antics with his large contingent of online followers has come at a significant financial cost, both in fines and the loss of vehicles,” he said.

“Our message to anyone taking part in foolish and high-risk activities or thinking you can push modified, unsafe vehicles to the limit is that we will continue to target you, investigate and take action.”

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