Nocturnal 
Ten people have been injured, two of them critically, after a car ploughed into a crowd gathered to farewell the Newcastle Knights rugby league team in Australia, as first reported by Sky News and the ABC.
The crash happened at around 9.30am local time on Saturday at the Transfield Drive roundabout on Newcastle Link Road in the Wallsend suburb, roughly 110km north of Sydney. More than 1,000 fans had lined the streets to cheer on the Knights as the team set off for Sydney ahead of Sunday’s NRL grand final.
What happened
Witnesses described terrifying scenes as the vehicle careered into the crowd. New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner David Waddell said there were reports the driver had been “driving erratically” before losing control.
Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris told the ABC the driver was actually a Knights supporter who had been “revving the car” in excitement before it went “sideways into the crowd”. Footage shared on social media appeared to show the car being driven quickly around the roundabout moments before the crash.
One fan caught up in the crash, 48-year-old Chris Clancy, told the Sydney Morning Herald he thought he was “going to die”. He suffered a broken collarbone, a fractured foot, broken ribs and several small spinal fractures, according to The Sun.
Children among the injured
A five-year-old girl was left in a critical condition, with NSW Police confirming she remained critical as of Saturday evening. The Guardian reported that a 67-year-old man, initially also critical, had since been upgraded to serious but stable.
John Hunter Hospital later told the Australian Associated Press that five other patients were stable and three had been discharged. A GoFundMe page set up for the young girl and her mother, who was also seriously injured, said the pair faced “a long road ahead… with ongoing surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation and recovery”.
Reports on the exact number injured have varied slightly between nine and ten across outlets, though most, including Sky News and the Guardian, cite ten casualties in total, among them three children.
Driver arrested, not treated as terrorism
Police arrested an 18-year-old P-plate driver at the scene. He was taken to hospital for mandatory drug and alcohol testing before being moved to a police station, where he was expected to be charged later on Saturday. Police said he was known to them prior to the incident.
Waddell said officers had to move the driver and two passengers away quickly as “the crowd did turn on them”. Police have stressed that early indications suggest the crash was not terror-related.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his “thoughts are with everyone injured or involved in the horrible incident”, while NSW Premier Chris Minns called it “heartbreaking”. NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said “nobody can comprehend what has happened with this terrible tragedy”, and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison noted the toll could have been far worse given the size of the crowd.
The Knights’ team bus was diverted from its planned route following the crash. As it stands, the investigation into the circumstances remains ongoing, with the injured continuing to receive treatment and the driver facing charges.
