Ten people injured, P-plater arrested after car crashes into Newcastle Knights fans

Ten people, including three children, have been hospitalised after a vehicle crashed into a crowd of Newcastle Knights fans, shocking locals who were lining the roads for kilometres to send off the home team ahead of Sunday’s grand final against the Sydney Roosters.

NSW 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, are in a stable condition.

Police do not believe the incident at Wallsend was targeted or terror related, and are investigating if the driver, an 18-year-old P-plater, lost control of his vehicle in the moments before the collision. The teenager was arrested at the scene of the crash and taken to hospital for mandatory drug and alcohol testing. He has not been charged.

Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris said children were among those injured, though NSW Ambulance would not confirm the ages of those injured.

“It’s just been a magical week of positivity and support, and we’ve all come together,” he said.

“So it was an absolute shock to hear the news this morning, and yeah, the information has been coming through, you know, over the last 30, 40 minutes now, so it’s really upsetting,” Morris told ABC television just a short time ago.

Emergency services were called to Newcastle Link Road at the Transfield Drive roundabout in Wallsend at about 9.30am following reports a vehicle had struck multiple people as the crowd gathered to support the Knights ahead of the grand final with the Roosters on Sunday.

Newcastle Knights said because of the incident, the team bus heading to Sydney for the grand final had to be diverted.

“We apologise to anyone who was waiting and missed the boys, but public safety is our priority,” the announcement said.

This masthead’s chief sports reporter Tom Decent, who was interviewing fans when the incident happened, said word started coming through that multiple people had been hit by a car and were severely injured.

“There are thousands and thousands of Knights fans on the street waiting to watch their heroes come through on the team but, but that’s now not happening,” Decent said.

“That excitement has turned to confusion and concern for their fellow fans. It’s chaos here at the moment. People have realised something very serious has happened.”

The Premier Chris Minns said it was heartbreaking to see fans who were sending off their grand final team involved in such a terrible incident.

“My thoughts are with the families and friends of loved ones who have been involved or injured in the crash. I also want to thank emergency services including police and ambulance who are responding to this tragedy”, the premier said.

“We’ve seen how this grand final has brought the Newcastle together, and I hope the whole community remains united as we continue to respond.”

Locals reported on social media that they were stuck in traffic on the Link Road, reporting multiple helicopters overhead, and more than 30 emergency responders.

Newcastle Link Road is closed in both directions and is expected to remain closed for some time while inquiries continue.

Officers attached to Newcastle City Police District remained on scene, assisted by Traffic and Highway Patrol Command officers and NSW Ambulance paramedics.

Newcastle residents said helicopters were whirring overhead, and the incident had blocked the Newcastle Link Road, the major route to Sydney.

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