Newcastle Police Charge 18-Year-Old After Car Injures 10 Knights Fans

2 articles · Updated · ABC News · Oct 3

Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, 18, was charged after police said he drove into Newcastle Knights supporters at Wallsend, with counts including dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm; he is due in Newcastle Bail Court on October 4.
Ten people were taken to John Hunter Hospital after the 9:30am crash, including a 5-year-old girl in critical but stable condition and a 67-year-old man in serious but stable condition.
Four others — a second 5-year-old girl, a 2-year-old girl, a 31-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man — remain hospitalized in stable condition, while four more injured supporters have been discharged.
NSW Police suspended the driver's P1 provisional licence and seized the vehicle for forensic examination after the crash near a roundabout on Newcastle Link Road.
The collision struck a crowd gathered to send off the Knights before their grand final, forcing the team bus onto another route and turning a community celebration into what police called an avoidable tragedy.