Teenage provisional driver charged after BMW hits Newcastle Knights fans at farewell event
Developed over time first seen 1 hour ago
An 18-year-old provisional driver has been charged after a gold BMW allegedly struck Newcastle Knights fans gathered to farewell the team bus, injuring ten people. Court records show his licence was suspended in February and an appeal was unsuccessful in April; the charges and allegations have yet to be tested in court.
The crash happened at about 9.30am on Saturday at a Newcastle roundabout, after reports the car had been driven erratically. The driver faces nine charges and is due for a bail hearing on Sunday. A five-year-old girl remains in a critical but stable condition in an induced coma, while a 67-year-old man is seriously but stably injured; four others remain in hospital and three have been discharged.
- Ten people were injured when a BMW allegedly hit Knights fans in Newcastle.
- The 18-year-old driver faces nine charges and had a suspended licence.
- A five-year-old girl is in an induced coma; other patients’ conditions vary.
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The Newcastle Knights is a professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, Australia. Fans had gathered at a roundabout on Saturday morning to farewell the team bus, a familiar show of community support.
A gold BMW struck the group of supporters around 9.30am, injuring ten people with varying degrees of severity. Among those hurt were a young child now in critical condition and an elderly man with serious injuries; several others remain hospitalised.
An 18-year-old provisional driver (learner driver) was in control of the vehicle, which had reportedly been driven erratically before the collision. His driving licence had been suspended earlier this year.
Full account
An 18-year-old provisional driver has been charged after a BMW struck Newcastle Knights supporters gathered to farewell the team on Saturday morning. Ten people were injured when the car hit people near the Newcastle Link Road roundabout at Transfield Avenue at about 9.30am, according to the supplied reports. The supporters had been watching the team bus depart. Police allege the car had been driven erratically before it struck people standing beside the road. That allegation has not been tested in court.
New South Wales Police identified the driver as Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, from Wallsend. He was arrested at the scene, taken to hospital for mandatory testing and later brought to Newcastle police station. He faces nine charges: three counts each of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and causing bodily harm by misconduct while in charge of a motor vehicle. Court records cited in the reports indicate that his licence had been suspended in February and that an appeal against the suspension failed in April. The reports do not establish how that earlier suspension relates to Saturday’s collision.
A five-year-old girl was among those most seriously hurt. The reports say she was in a critical but stable condition and had been placed in an induced coma. A woman described as her mother was also seriously injured. In an online fundraiser, Ashleigh Gibbs, who is understood to be related to the child, said both faced further treatment and a lengthy recovery. A 67-year-old man’s condition had improved from critical to serious but stable, according to the first report, which also said three of the ten injured people had been discharged from hospital.
Samarasinghe appeared briefly at a Sunday hearing by video link from Newcastle police station, according to the second report. He did not apply for bail, which was formally refused. His lawyers asked whether he could receive a health assessment in custody; the court heard that this would probably include a mental health review. The proceedings marked a change from the first report, published before the hearing, when his bail position was still unknown. The charges remain allegations, and the circumstances of the collision have yet to be determined by a court.
Where outlets differ
Source 1 reports the charges and injuries before the scheduled Sunday bail hearing; Source 2 adds the outcome of that hearing, including the refusal of bail and the request for a health assessment.
Source 1 gives more attention to the injured child, her mother and their fundraiser. Source 2 places more emphasis on the accused’s court appearance and reactions posted on social media.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Revealed: P-plate driver, 18, accused of ploughing his BMW into Newcastle Knights fans previously had his licence suspended – as injured girl, 5, is left in induced coma”.