Victorian woman wanted for mowing down cop

A woman wanted over the hit-and-run of a detective in a shopping centre car park is the latest alleged perpetrator in a string of close calls involving Victorian police.

Police think Jade Earl, 31, panicked when she was cornered by detectives wanting to speak to her about stealing fruit and vegetables, escalating her problems by hitting an officer as she fled.

Detective Inspector Marty Allison said the injured officer had no option but to jump on the bonnet of the car, causing injuries to his face, knees and hands.

"I think she panicked," Det Allison said.

"A fairly innocuous incident with some fruit and vegetables has escalated into one of our detectives being injured."

It is the third incident in less than a week involving cars allegedly driven towards police.

On Wednesday, a police officer was injured when he was struck by a car outside the Eastlink tunnel.

Earlier that day another officer was forced to jump out of the way of a car travelling towards him in Fawkner.

Both of those incidents are before the courts.