A DRAMATIC manhunt has ended in chaos as an allegedly armed fugitive tried to run a police car off a road before a serious crash which left one teen crim fighting for his life.

Police unleashed the dog squad and tasered Don Dale escapee Josiah Binsaris, 17, who had been at large three days before his dramatic arrest, hours after the stolen ute his notorious accomplice Ezra Austral was driving crashed 15km south of Adelaide River.

Police descended on the town, 120km south of Darwin, yesterday.

Alex Kaczmarek, of Berry Springs, said a Toyota LandCruiser – with Binsaris allegedly behind the wheel – almost “cleaned up” his ute at an intersection near the Adelaide River pub.

“Police cars came out of every nook and cranny and there was a chopper,” Mr Kaczmarek said.

“I think everyone was as shocked as I was.”

Police said Binsaris struggled to remove a knife from his pocket before he was tasered.

Territory Response Group cops and a police dog “forcibly removed” him from the stolen four-wheel-drive.

media_camera The crash that left Ezra Austral in hospital. PICTURE: Katrina Bridgeford

Authorities had been hunting for Binsaris and another inmate, Trey Mawson, after the pair broke out of the low security unit at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre on Wednesday.

Mawson was arrested at Borroloola.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Matthew Hollamby said police established an incident control group to co-ordinate the search.

Binsaris was believed to be in Katherine.

The chase began when Austral, 19 – whose attempt at gangster rap, penchant for posting potentially incriminating photos on social media and criminal history spanning more than 25 pages had previously made headlines – drove through a roadblock in a stolen Holden Colorado ute in Katherine at 4.40am yesterday.

media_camera Ezra Austral. PICTURE: Facebook media_camera Josiah Binsaris. PICTURE: NT Police

Commissioner Hollamby said: “Pursuits are dangerous to the offenders, police and community.

“We needed to apprehend the person.”

Binsaris joined the pursuit in a allegedly hot Holden Commodore and is accused of trying to run police off the road.

He caught up with Austral, who lost control and rolled when he tried to overtake a truck.

Austral remains in intensive care at Royal Darwin Hospital with possible head and spinal injuries.

Binsaris abandoned the sedan and fled the scrub crash site on foot.

He allegedly stole the LandCruiser from a cattle station.

Police brought in a helicopter and TRG deployed tyre spikes and nicked him with a “boxing manoeuvre” about 5km north of Adelaide River.

He was medically assessed but police were unable to confirm if the dog bit him.

Binsaris and Mawson reportedly left Darwin with two other young people in a stolen vehicle after the prison break, carjacked a woman at Renner Springs and rammed a police car at Tennant Creek.

Commander Hollamby said the alleged crime spree that saw six civilian cars stolen and five police cars damaged warranted a “rigorous investigation”.