Newcastle crash ‘a tragedy that needn’t have happened’ | ABC NEWS
A five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man are in a critical condition and eight others have been injured after a car ploughed into a crowd gathered for the Newcastle Knights grand final procession.
The 18-year-old P-plate driver was arrested at the scene shortly after the crash on Newcastle Link Road, at Wallsend in Newcastle’s west, about 9:30am.
Thousands of Knights supporters had lined the road to cheer the bus carrying players to Olympic Park ahead of Sunday’s game, with police saying the crash was not a targeted attack.
Crowds shouted at the man as he was bundled into a police car and driven away from the scene.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner David Waddell says there were two others in the car with the driver who were removed from the vehicle by authorities after the “crowd turned on them”.
Assistant Commissioner Waddell says the driver is now at a police station, “where he will be dealt with and likely charged later today”.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley says what occurred this morning was a preventable tragedy.
“We knew that this weekend would be a busy weekend. We knew that people would be out celebrating the wonderful achievements of the Newcastle Knights, and we set out warnings about driver behaviour and how important driver behaviour is,” Minister Catley said, before urging people to drive responsibly and take their time on the roads.
#NRLGrandFinal #NewcastleKnights
Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.
#ABCNEWS #ABCNEWSAustralia
