Source : Perth Now news
Newcastle’s grand final weekend has become a powerful show of community support, with fundraisers surging for the families injured after a car struck Knights fans gathered to farewell the team in Wallsend.
As loved ones keep watch at hospital bedsides, friends, relatives and locals are rallying to help families facing months of surgery, recovery and lost income.
Multiple fundraising pages were launched within hours of Saturday morning’s crash, which injured 10 people after a car drove into a crowd at Newcastle Link Rd near the Transfield Drive roundabout.
Police have charged P-plater Indika Samarasinghe, 18, with multiple offences, including dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and negligent driving. Investigators do not believe the incident was deliberate.
The most urgent appeal is for a five-year-old girl, who remains in a critical but stable condition in an induced coma, and her mother, who was also seriously injured.
By midday Sunday, a GoFundMe set up by the woman’s sister had raised more than $29,000.
In the fundraiser, she wrote that her sister and niece were facing “an incredibly difficult and uncertain road ahead”.
“Both mum and child now have a long road ahead of them, with ongoing surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation and recovery,” the post read.
The page states the money will help cover medical costs, bills, travel to and from hospital, and day-to-day living expenses while the mother is unable to work.
Another fundraiser has centred on Dave, a grandfather injured while protecting his two granddaughters from the oncoming car. His daughter, Lucy-Mae Martin, wrote that he pushed the girls out of the way before being hit himself.
“He has just undergone 8 hours in surgery with multiple fractures in both legs,” Ms Martin wrote.
By midday Sunday, that appeal had raised more than $22,000.
The family launched the fundraiser to help with travel, accommodation, meals and the cost of getting him “back on his feet”.
A third community fundraiser, created by Rachel March and Ash from Steel City Standard, had raised almost $6000 by midday Sunday.
That appeal aims to support all of the injured and their families, with organisers listing victims ranging from young children to older adults and pledging to divide donations equally once families have been identified and verified.
“We’re asking our community to come together and support those who have been affected and their families during what is undoubtedly an incredibly difficult time,” the organisers wrote.
What began as a morning of excitement for Knights supporters quickly turned to chaos. More than 1000 people had gathered in the area before emergency services were called about 9.30am on Saturday.
Witness Dylan Prior recalled the car was “revving a bit” before it ran into the crowd.
“I saw some young kids go flying, and people running to help the victims,” Mr Prior told the ABC.
As of Saturday night, five other patients remained stable and three people had been discharged.
Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said the toll could have been even worse given the size of the crowd, while Premier Chris Minns described it as heartbreaking for a community that had come together behind its grand final side.
