+34An 18-year-old P-plate driver has been refused bail after his car struck a crowd of Newcastle Knights fans, injuring 10 people near a Wallsend roundabout on Saturday morning.
An 18-year-old P-plate driver, Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, has been refused bail after his car careered into a crowd of Newcastle Knights fans near a major roundabout at Wallsend on Saturday morning, injuring 10 people.
Court Appearance and Driving Charges
He appeared briefly in court on Sunday and did not apply for release. Samarasinghe was arrested at the crash site and taken for mandatory drug and alcohol testing. He was later charged with nine offences, including three counts each of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and causing bodily harm by misconduct in charge of a motor vehicle. His licence has again been suspended.
The bail court was told the most serious offence of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm carries a maximum jail term of seven years. The judge also endorsed a warrant for a health assessment. He will next appear at Newcastle local court on 15 October. Court records show Samarasinghe had his driving licence suspended in February and appealed against the suspension in April, but was unsuccessful.
Injuries and Hospital Conditions
Six people remain at John Hunter hospital with injuries caused by the collision, according to Hunter New England Local Health District chief executive Tracey McCosker. Two are in a serious condition, while four are stable. They include a five-year-old girl who had been placed into an induced coma with critical injuries, although her condition has stabilised. A 67-year-old patient was in a serious but stable condition, and four others, including a two-year-old and a five-year-old girl, were stable.
Four people had been discharged, including three men in their 20s and a 63-year-old woman. The two male passengers in the vehicle, aged 18 and 19, were both uninjured. The car has been seized to undergo forensic examination. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner David Waddell said officers were investigating reports the P-plater had been driving erratically before he lost control of the vehicle.
Crash Investigation and Witness Accounts
Investigators did not believe the incident was deliberate but declined to comment on reports the vehicle was being driven erratically before the crash. Footage posted to social media depicted the BMW careering around a roundabout moments before the crash, as shocked onlookers were heard screaming. Thousands of Knights fans had lined the streets to farewell their team as the players travelled to Sydney for the NRL grand final.
Chris Clancy, one of the injured, said the car appeared to speed up as it went through a roundabout and then lost control on the wet road. No one had time to move, he said. I thought I was going to die, it happened so fast. Clancy described the scene: We are there at the roundabout having fun, cars going past, beeping their horns, people waving.
The next thing, this car stops at the roundabout and then he just floored it on the wet ground, lost it. It happened in seconds, but when you stand there, seeing the car coming at you, I honestly thought I was going to die. It just felt like slow motion.
Aftermath Among Newcastle Knights Fans
Fans at the crash site rushed to provide first aid as emergency crews arrived and word of the collision spread through tens of thousands of excited fans waiting for a glimpse of their team. The team bus, which had not yet departed when the crash occurred, was rerouted and players were informed. They were shocked, it was a very sombre bus ride, said one of those aboard.
Onlookers expressed anger towards the occupants of the car after the crash, police said. We had to get the three of them out of there because the crowd did turn on them, Waddell said. Witness Dean Liddell said he could hear the vehicle coming towards the crowd and then all hell broke loose. I watched the little girl get dragged underneath the car.
Seeing the whole scene unfold, it took me 10 minutes until I could say anything to anyone, Liddell said. He said the crowd grabbed the driver from the wreck and a scuffle began before police intervened. If the copper was not there, the driver would have had massive injuries as well, he said. Multiple fundraisers have been established for the victims of the incident, including one for the five-year-old girl and another for Wallsend grandfather Dave Martin.
Martin was injured after being struck by the car while trying to protect his two young granddaughters, sustaining multiple fractures in both legs and undergoing a lengthy surgery. He was known in Wallsend for his love of the Knights, often decorating his barber shop on Nelson Street with team paraphernalia. Newcastle is preparing for an emotional NRL grand final after what had been a week of celebration for the city.
Newcastle Community Response
Newcastle Lord Mayor Gavin Morris said the crash had transformed the mood. You know, 25 long years, but we have been able to come together in an extraordinary way. And I believe now we will come together again in a new way. We will come together for the families and those injured, but we will come together also for the Knights.
It is obviously shifted the entire mood, but we will do what we do best as Novocastrians, and we will come together for each other. Morris said passing vehicles were revving up the crowd as they drove past thousands of Knights fans lining the roadside before the crash. That just should not have been occurring, but it has, he said.
Asked whether bollards or fencing should have been installed, Morris said securing the 20-kilometre stretch of road between the Knights home ground and the crash site was almost an impossible task. The Knights chief executive, Peter Parr, expressed deep concern for those affected by the crash. Newcastle is a strong community, he said.
We have seen that strength throughout this week, and today we need to draw on it again with compassion, care and support for those who need it most. Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga said on social media that players hearts are with everyone affected by the crash. We are thinking of you, your families and everyone impacted.
SBSNews 
smh:P-plater in horror Newcastle Knights car crash previously lost his licence 
GuardianAus:No bail for P-plater over Newcastle crash that left five-year-old in induced coma and injured nine other NRL fansThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
P-Plate Driver Charged Wallsend Car Accident NRL Grand Final Newcastle Court Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe Wallsend Car Incident P-Plate Driver Bail Wallsend Roundabout Bail Refused
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