Get you up to speed: Girl, 5, in critical condition after car ploughs into crowd of rugby fans | News World
At least 10 people, including children, were injured when a car crashed into a crowd of rugby fans in Sydney, Australia. An 18-year-old male, identified as Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, was arrested at the scene and charged with multiple driving offences, with two individuals critically injured and the remaining victims in stable condition.
The driver, Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, has been charged with multiple instances of dangerous and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm. New South Wales Police have stated that the incident, occurring at 9.30am, is not believed to be linked to terrorism, with no indications of any targeted motive.
Newcastle Knights CEO Peter Parr expressed his concern for those injured, stating, “Our thoughts and prayers are first and foremost with everyone who has been injured, their families and loved ones.” New South Wales Police confirmed that the driver, Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, has been charged with multiple counts of dangerous and negligent driving, and they have ruled out any suggestion of terrorism.
What remains unclear — It is not confirmed whether the driver, Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, acted alone or if the other two passengers in the car played any role in the incident.
Five-year-old girl in critical condition after car hits crowd of rugby fans in Sydney
At least 10 people are injured, including several children, after a car crashed into a crowd in Sydney, Australia.
Rugby fans gathered to support the Newcastle Knights NRL team while they trained in New South Wales for their final against the Sydney Roosters tomorrow.
New South Wales Police have confirmed that a five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man are in critical condition at John Hunter Hospital.
The girl suffered a cardiac arrest and is in an induced coma after sustaining head injuries and broken bones. Her mother also broke her leg.
The other eight wounded are stable, which includes two girls aged two and five.
An 18-year-old male who was driving the vehicle was arrested and later identified as Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe.
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An 18-year-old male has been arrested after driving a car into a crowd of rugby fans (Picture: Reuters)
There were three people in the vehicle, with police saying the crowd ‘turned’ on them (Picture: Reuters)
Documents obtained by ABC confirm he has been charged with three instances of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, three instances of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and three instances of causing bodily harm by misconduct.
Following the incident, which occurred at 9.30am, Newcastle Knights CEO Peter Parr shared his concern, writing on the team’s website: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are first and foremost with everyone who has been injured, their families and loved ones, and everyone who witnessed what occurred this morning.
‘What was meant to be a special morning for our community, thousands of Novocastrians coming together to farewell our team and show their support ahead of the Grand Final, has understandably turned into a distressing morning.
‘We want to thank our incredible fans for the passion and support they showed our team this morning. The scenes across Newcastle demonstrated once again what this football club means to our community.’
Parr went on to praise the ‘extraordinary’ actions of first responders, hailing the ‘speed and professionalism of NSW Police, NSW Ambulance and all emergency services at the scene’.
‘We also extend our deepest thanks to the doctors, nurses and entire team at John Hunter Hospital who are caring for those injured.
Newcastle Knights will play against Sydney Roosters this weekend (Picture: Ayush Kumar/Getty Images)
‘I would also like to personally acknowledge NSW Police Commissioner Malcolm Lanyon for his leadership and support.’
He called Newcastle a ‘strong community’, encouraging people to draw on their ‘strength’ and ‘compassion’ to support ‘those who need it most’.
Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner David Waddell of New South Wales Police informed reporters that, as well as the arrested man, there were two other passengers in the car.
He said officers ‘had to get the three of them out of there because the crowd did turn on them’.
Waddell explained that the driver was taken for ‘mandatory drug and alcohol testing’ ahead of being charged.
He said the crash is not believed to be terrorism-related, and there are ‘no concerns other than this being a tragic incident where a young person has done the wrong thing and driven irresponsibly, driven erratically, and obviously lost control of the vehicle into the crowd’.
‘But there’s no, no suggestion at all that it’s targeted or any ill motive.’
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