Accused driver’s isolated life draws scrutiny after MP Helen Haines injured
Brendan Nugent, 43, has been charged after allegedly driving his four-wheel-drive into independent MP Helen Haines twice as she stood behind her car in Wangaratta. Haines suffered catastrophic injuries, lost one leg and remains in critical condition as doctors try to save the other; the case has drawn attention to the accused man’s isolated and troubled life.
Nugent was arrested near Haines’s office on Monday and charged the following night with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and harming a Commonwealth public official. A visit to his home in Tarrawingee found a dilapidated, overgrown property strewn with rubbish and empty beer and whisky bottles. Neighbours alleged he had threatened residents over several years and once run over a family dog; claims about cannabis growing at the property were also reported.
- Helen Haines was critically injured in an alleged vehicle attack.
- Brendan Nugent faces three charges.
- His home was found in severe disrepair.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “The lonely life of man accused of mowing down MP Helen Haines – and how he drank his days away in a crumbling snakes’ den of liquor bottles and rubbish”.