A teenager has been charged after a car allegedly struck a crowd of rugby league fans at a parade in Newcastle, New South Wales, on Saturday (October 3), injuring 10 people.
Incident at the Knights' send-off parade
Thousands of fans had lined the streets of Newcastle to wave off the city's rugby league team ahead of Sunday's (October 4) NRL grand final, the biggest match in club rugby league. It will be the Newcastle Knights' first appearance in the showpiece game for 25 years.
Celebration turned to devastation when a car allegedly collided with supporters on the roadside, injuring 10 people. Among the wounded were a five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man, both critically hurt.
Casualties and charges
All 10 were taken to hospital. The critically injured pair are now in a 'critical but stable' condition, NSW Police said in an update late on Saturday.
Police have charged Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, 18, with three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm; three counts of negligent driving; and three counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct, in charge of motor vehicle. He is set to appear in court on Sunday, reports ABC News.
The police update also confirmed four other people remain in hospital in a stable condition: another five-year-old girl, a two-year-old girl, a 31-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man. Four others — three men aged 24, 25 and 27, and a 63-year-old woman — have been discharged.
Parade route altered
The bus parade's route had to be altered due to a 'major incident', the Newcastle Knights said. The bus had not reached the area of Newcastle Link Road where the incident took place.
Newcastle Knights will take on Sydney Roosters for the NRL premiership on Sunday evening at 7:30pm local time, 9:30am in the UK. This season, both sides have been spearheaded by star performances from English players, Dom Young for the Knights and Victor Radley for the Roosters.
