Helen Haines Improves to Serious but Stable 5 Days After Alleged Car Attack
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 24
Helen Haines Improves to Serious but Stable 5 Days After Alleged Car Attack
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 24
Summary
Alfred Hospital said Saturday that Australian MP Helen Haines had improved from critical to serious but stable, the first positive update since she was airlifted to Melbourne after Monday's attack.
Haines, 65, had both legs amputated after authorities say a driver deliberately struck her outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, northeast Victoria.
Brendan Nugent, 43, was arrested shortly after the incident and has appeared on three charges, while police said attempted murder could still be added.
Victoria Police, backed by the Australian Federal Police, said the investigation is continuing with no motive established; detectives are examining whether drugs or medication played a role.
The attack has jolted Australian politics, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pointing to a rising public temperature as Haines recovers from one of the country's most serious assaults on a lawmaker.