A major private equity boss allegedly crashed his $170,000 BMW into five cars and refused two alcohol-detecting breath tests. Police allege Joel Thickins, the co-head of Texas Pacific Group (TPG) Asia, hit a Mazda before smashing into four parked cars in Paddington, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, on Monday night. The 48-year-old allegedly refused a roadside breath test and a breath analysis after he was arrested and taken to Paddington Police Station.“About 7.20pm on Monday 1 June 2026, officers attached to Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command responded to York Road, Queens Park, after reports of a crash,” NSW Police said in a statement.A witness described it as an “almighty crash”. “I heard a passerby in the traffic ask the driver if he was OK. ‘Yeah, I’m OK,” Adam Corcoran told the ABC. “We had upwards of half a dozen police officers taking statements. One was verbally instructing the driver not to move too far. [He] seemed to be in OK condition, complying with the police officers.”Three of the six cars had to be towed from the scene. Founded in San Francisco, TPG Capital is one of the biggest private equity firms in Australia. Across Australia and Asia, Thickins manages more than $32 billion of assets for the firm.Thickins joined TPG Capital in 2016. He made headlines in 2017 after making a $2.87 billion bid for Fairfax Media and fronted a Senate committee over the future of journalism.In Australia, TPG Capital owns businesses such as the Greencross Vets chain, pet retailer Pet Barn and clinical trials business Novatech.news.com.au has contacted TPG Asia for comment.Thickins has been charged with negligent driving, and refusing or failing to submit to breath analysis and will appear at Waverly Local Court on June 30.Benjamin.graham@news.com.auRead related topics:Sydney