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An 18-year-old P-plate driver has been charged after his car ploughed into Newcastle Knights supporters, injuring 10 people. He was refused bail and will face court on Sunday.
An 18-year-old P-plate driver has been refused bail and will face court on Sunday after his car ploughed into a crowd of Newcastle Knights supporters, injuring 10 people, some critically.
Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe was arrested at the crash site on Saturday and taken for mandatory drug and alcohol testing. Court records show Samarasinghe had his driving licence suspended in February. He appealed against the suspension in April but was unsuccessful. His licence has again been suspended.
Charges and Injuries After Newcastle Crash
He was charged with 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. Of the 10 people injured as they lined a Newcastle street to wave off the Knights to the NRL grand final, the most serious is a five-year-old girl. She was in a serious but stable condition in John Hunter Hospital on Sunday morning.
A 67-year-old patient is also in a serious but stable condition. Four others, including a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old girl, were stable. Four of those injured were discharged on Saturday, including three men in their 20s and a 63-year-old woman. One of the injured, Chris Clancy, 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. Fans at the crash site rushed to provide first aid as emergency crews rushed to the scene. Word of the collision spread through the 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. Our fans mean everything to us. For that to happen; horrible.
Police Investigate BMW Crash Scene
The car that Samarasinghe was allegedly driving has been seized to undergo forensic examination. The two male passengers in the vehicle at the time of the crash, aged 18 and 19, were both uninjured. 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.
Footage posted to social media depicted the BMW with personalised number plates careering around the roundabout moments before the crash, as shocked onlookers were heard screaming. 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.
Knights Fans Left Heartbroken by Tragedy
The accident came after a joyous week in Newcastle, where the city threw its support behind a team that has not won a premiership for 25 years. The Knights had been expected to be inspired by the joy of their supporters during the grand final, but will now also feel the weight of the tragedy when they take the field. 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 in our Newcastle community. Longtime league watchers say no other grand final has been played under such a shadow. It is heartbreaking for the whole rugby league community, not just in Newcastle, said Brad Fittler, a former Roosters captain and a member of the league hall of fame. We have never seen anything like this ahead of a grand final and it puts everything in perspective.
Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman Peter V'Landys said he was deeply saddened by the crash. When asked whether it would affect plans for Sunday night's game, he said we are just concerned about the victims at the moment. NSW Premier Chris Minns said it was heartbreaking to see fans who were sending off their grand final team involved in such a terrible incident.
My thoughts are with the families and friends of loved ones who have been involved or injured in the crash. I also want to thank emergency services, including police and ambulance, who are responding to this tragedy, the premier said. We have seen how this grand final has brought Newcastle together, and I hope the whole community remains united as we continue to respond.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Gavin Morris said on Nine's Today program on Sunday morning that the community had rallied behind the victims. He said staff at the John Hunter Hospital had come in to work on their days off given the number of injuries. The community has gone through the complete and utter full gamut of emotions over the past seven days, Morris said. To what happen last Sunday and the complete and utter highs.
It has been nothing but a joyous, fun week. And then yesterday we had our hearts ripped out. Morris said that before Saturday's crash, the lead-up to the grand final had been one of the most incredibly joyous weeks in our city. He said passing vehicles were revving up the crowd as they drove past thousands of Knights fans lining the roadside before the crash.
Aftermath and Calls for Unity
Asked whether bollards or fencing should have been installed at the roadside to protect fans, Morris said securing the 20-kilometre stretch of road between the Knights home ground and the crash site was almost an impossible task. The injured Clancy said a police vehicle was stationed near the crash site and responded quickly. He said the car came at the group of supporters too fast for them to jump out of the way.
He was hit by the front of the vehicle. Knights fan Jed Partridge, 29, who arrived at 8.20am to join thousands of others in waving off the team bus, was among fans who watched the celebration turn to shock. We were on the side of the road, just waiting. Everyone was happy, and then there was a real flurry of cop cars, ambos and rescue cars shooting past.
He said word soon filtered out that there had been a serious crash. It was eerie. Such a positive thing could quickly turn to this. It is hard to wrap your head around.
Fans urged the Knights to press forward and do their best on Sunday night. It will be tough for them, but do what they have always done and do it for the town, said Clancy. I believe they can win. Regardless of whether they win or lose, they have done the town proud.
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theage:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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