source : the age
That’s where we’ll leave our rolling coverage of the aftermath of this morning’s tragic crash in Newcastle, where 10 people were injured after a P-plate driver allegedly ploughed into a crowd of rugby league fans waving off the Newcastle Knights’ team bus before tomorrow’s NRL grand final.
If you’re just tuning in, here is what we know as of Saturday evening:
- Emergency services crews responded to reports a vehicle had struck multiple people in a crowd alongside Newcastle Link Road, near the Transfield Drive roundabout, about 9.30am.
- The injured were among thousands of fans who had lined the roads to farewell the team bus before the NRL grand final between the Newcastle Knights and Sydney Roosters on Sunday.
- As of 7pm: A girl, 5, remains critical in John Hunter Hospital. Also injured and taken to hospital were a man, 67, a second five-year-old girl, a two-year-old girl, two women aged 31 and 63, and four men aged 24, 25, 48 and 57. Three people have since been discharged.
- The P-plate driver of the vehicle – an 18-year-old man – was arrested and taken to hospital for mandatory testing. Police say the man was known to them and is expected to be charged.
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The incident it is not believed to be targeted or terror-related.
- Police alleged the driver – who was known to authorities – was driving erratically and lost control of the car in the moments before the crash.
- The Knights’ bus, which had not yet departed when the crash occurred, was rerouted and players trained in Sydney on Saturday afternoon. Captain Kalyn Ponga led tributes to those injured, saying team members’ “hearts are with everyone affected”.
- Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman Peter V’Landys said he was deeply saddened by the crash. When asked whether it would affect plans for Sunday night’s game at Accor Stadium, he said: “We’re just concerned about the victims at the moment.”
The excitement was building, and everyone seemed swept up in NRL grand final fever.
For kilometre after kilometre, Knights fans were everywhere, writes the Herald’s chief sports reporter Tom Decent from Newcastle.
Families stood on nature strips. Kids wore red, white and blue jerseys and waved handmade signs. Car horns blared. Chairs were lined up along the road, waiting for a glimpse of the Knights’ coach as it made its way to Sydney with the players and the hopes of an entire city on board.
After a breakfast rich with Knights legends from the 1997 and 2001 premiership-winning teams, the 2026 grand final team boarded the bus, bound for Sydney for tomorrow night’s clash with the Roosters. At 9.27am, the chant of “Newcastle” rang out as the coach pulled away from the curb.
Read the full story here.
Dean Liddell was standing 10 metres from the scene of the crash, and watched in horror as the car lost control and ploughed into the crowd.
“I heard him coming towards us revving, and then all hell broke loose,” Liddell said.
“I watched the little girl get dragged underneath the car. Seeing the whole scene unfold, it took me 10 minutes until I could say anything to anyone,” Liddell said.
Liddell said members of the crowd had grabbed the driver from the car and a scuffle broke out before police intervened.
One of the victims of the out-of-control car that ploughed into Knights fans, Chris Clancy, has spoken from his hospital bed about how the BMW car came at him so fast, he had no time to jump aside and thought he was going to die.
Clancy, a 48-year-old assistant manager at Kennards Hire at Heatherbrae and a foundation Knights supporter, is at John Hunter Hospital nursing a broken left collarbone, a fracture in his right foot, some broken ribs and some small spinal fractures.
He was due to undergo surgery on Saturday night or Sunday, although he has asked doctors to finish their work before the grand final kick-off at 7.30pm on Sunday.
Read the full story from the Herald’s chief sports reporter Tom Decent, who was speaking with fans in Newcastle when the crash happened this morning.
We have just received an update about the condition of the 10 people who were injured in the crash and taken to John Hunter Hospital.
A five-year-old girl remains in critical condition, while another patient is in a serious but stable condition.
Five patients are now in a stable condition, while three have been discharged from hospital.
NSW Health did not say which patients had been discharged. Earlier today, police said a five-year-old girl was in a critical condition along with a 67-year-old man.
Eight others, including a two-year-old girl, a second five-year-old girl, two women aged 31 and 63, and four men aged 24, 25, 48 and 57, were in a stable condition earlier today.
Newcastle Knights chief executive Peter Parr has expressed his deep concern and support for those affected by the horror car crash this morning, while thanking fans for their “passion and support.”
In a statement, Parr said his thoughts and prayers were with everyone who had been injured and those who witnessed the incident.
“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,” Parr said.
“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,” he said.
Good afternoon.
Ten people have been injured after a P-plate driver allegedly crashed into a crowd of rugby league fans waving off the Newcastle Knights’ team bus at Wallsend in Newcastle on Saturday morning.
If you’re just tuning into our live coverage, here’s what we know about the tragedy so far:
- Emergency services crews responded to reports a vehicle had struck multiple people in a crowd on Newcastle Link Road, at the Transfield Drive roundabout, about 9.30am.
- The injured were among thousands of fans who had lined the roads to farewell the team bus before the NRL grand final between the Newcastle Knights and Sydney Roosters on Sunday.
- As of 3pm, a girl, 5, and a man, 67 are in a critical condition. Eight others, including a two-year-old girl, a second five-year-old girl, two women aged 31 and 63, and four men aged 24, 25, 48 and 57, are in a stable condition.
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The P-plate driver of the vehicle – an 18-year-old man – was arrested and taken to hospital for mandatory testing. Police say he is expected to be charged.
- The incident it is not believed to be terror-related.
- Police alleged the driver – who was known to authorities – was driving erratically and lost control of the car in the moments before the crash. Footage published on social media shows a BMW careening around the roundabout before ploughing into the crowds as onlookers scream.
- Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga has led tributes to those injured in the crash, saying team members’ “hearts are with everyone affected in Wallsend”.
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Newcastle Link Road has been closed in both directions and is expected to remain closed for some time while inquiries continue.
Vehicles were “revving up the crowd” as they drove past thousands of Knights fans lining the roadside before the crash, Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris said.
“That just should not have been occurring, but it has,” Morris said.
“It’s a tragedy. It’s something that we can’t take back. It’s occurred.”
Morris said the lead-up to Sunday’s NRL grand final had been one of the “most incredibly joyous weeks in our city”.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner David Waddell said extra police resources had been deployed on the roads before Saturday’s crash.
Waddell did not specify how many additional officers were on the road, but said police had undertaken significant planning ahead of the Newcastle Knights bus leaving for Sydney.
“Police have done a lot of work in preparation for this, in preparation for tomorrow, as they always do,” he said.
Asked whether bollards or fencing should have been installed at the roadside to protect fans, Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris said securing the 20-kilometre stretch of road between the Knight’s home ground and the crash site was “almost an impossible task”.
The 18-year-old driver was known to police before Saturday’s crash, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner David Waddell said, as he stressed the incident was not believed to be targeted.
Waddell said police were investigating reports that the teenager had been driving erratically on the way to the crash site.
The crash was not believed to be targeted, Waddell said.
“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 suggestion at all that it’s targeted or any ill motive” he said.
The actions of witnesses who confronted the driver, and any possible offences committed after the crash, would be investigated, Waddell said.
