Source : the age
Good morning.
Multiple people of various ages have been injured after a car crashed into a crowd of football fans who had come out to farewell the Newcastle Knights team bus in Wallsend on Saturday morning.
A major operation is under way after emergency services were called to Newcastle Link Road at the Transfield Drive roundabout following reports a vehicle had struck multiple people about 9.30am.
The driver was arrested at the scene.
The planned route for the Newcastle Knights bus has been diverted. Police have advised the public to avoid Newcastle Link Road, Wallsend, and to follow the advice of emergency services.
We will bring you live updates as the story develops.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner David Waddell and NSW Ambulance acting associate director of clinical operations Tim Troon, along with Police and Counter-terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison, will speak after 10 people were struck by a car in Newcastle.
Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga has led tributes to those injured in the crash.
“Our hearts are with everyone affected in Wallsend this morning,” Ponga said on social media.
“We’re thinking of you, your families and everyone in our Newcastle community. Sending our love and support x.”
The crash happened as thousands of supporters lined the streets to farewell the Knights’ team bus before it left for Sydney on its way to the NRL grand final on Sunday night.
Footage has captured the moment a BMW careened around a roundabout before ploughing into a crowd of Newcastle Knights fans, injuring 10 people including three children.
The video, shared on social media platform X, shows the car speeding around a bend and crossing lane markings before the video cuts out. People can be heard screaming in the background.
The footage appears to capture the moments directly before the collision on Newcastle Link Road at the Transfield Drive roundabout in Wallsend about 9.30am.
Police say the P-plate driver of the vehicle – an 18-year-old man – has been arrested and taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
Police have released an update, confirming three young girls are among 10 people injured after they were struck by a car, which was allegedly driven by an 18-year-old P-plater at Wallsend.
Two people – a five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man – remain in a critical condition, NSW Police say.
The other eight people are in a stable condition:
- A second five-year-old girl
- A two-year-old girl
- A 31-year-old woman
- A 48-year-old man
- A 24-year-old man
- A 63-year-old woman
- A 25-year-old man
- A 57-year-old man
NSW Police said the driver was arrested and taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
It was previously believed nine people had been injured.
The Herald’s chief sports reporter Tom Decent, who was nearby interviewing fans when the crash happened, says there is real shock among fans. He says the team farewell was supposed to be a significant moment for Newcastle; ambulance and police sirens are not what people would have expected.
He spoke to Knights fan Jed Partridge, 29, who had arrived at 8.20am to join thousands of others in waving off the team bus.
“We were on the side of the road, just waiting. Everyone was happy and then there was a real flurry of cop cars, ambos and rescue cars shooting past.”
Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman Peter V’landys has expressed sadness over the horror crash and says his thoughts are with the injured before Sunday’s NRL Grand Final.
“We’re deeply saddened by the incident near Wallsend,” V’landys said.
“We’re currently working with police to understand the circumstances. Our thoughts are very much with those injured and anyone impacted by the events, not to mention the entire Knights community who have come together in jubilation to support their team.“
Asked if the incident would impact on the plans for the grand final in Sydney on Sunday night, V’landys said: “We’re just concerned about the victims at the moment, that’s all we’re focusing on.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has thanked emergency services for their work in Newcastle this morning, confirming that he has spoken with NSW Premier Chris Minns about the incident.
“My thoughts are with everyone injured or involved in the horrible incident this morning in Newcastle. I want to acknowledge and thank emergency services and police for responding so quickly, and their ongoing work in treating the injured,” Albanese said.
“Rugby league brings people together, and this should have been a weekend of excitement and pride for Newcastle fans. I have spoken to the NSW Premier Chris Minns, and offered our support.”
One child injured in the crash is in a critical condition.
NSW Ambulance confirmed earlier nine people have been treated and transported to hospital after a car crashed into crowds farewelling the Newcastle Knights team bus before Sunday’s grand final.
Police do not believe the incident was targeted, and are investigating if the driver lost control of his vehicle in the moments before the collision on Newcastle Link Road. The driver was arrested at the scene.
We have just received the first video from the scene of the crash, showing a dated and damaged BMW sitting just off the road. The vehicle’s tyres look extremely worn.
There appears to be a child’s white shoe just in front of the car on the pavement.
Until now, much of what has emerged on social media is quite a distance from the site of the incident.
Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris and federal MP Dan Repacholi both said earlier the incident is believed to have occurred after a driver lost control of their vehicle.
Two people are in critical condition in Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital after a car crashed into a crowd of Newcastle Knights fans.
NSW Ambulance confirmed that nine people have been treated and transported to hospital after the car crashed into crowds farewelling the Newcastle Knights team bus.
Of the nine, one was transferred in critical condition, one was critical but stable, and the remaining injured were in a stable condition.
The NSW Ambulance media spokesperson said those injured were of varying ages.
