Teen Driver Faces 17 Charges After Allegedly Crashing Into NRL Fans
The 18-year-old P-plater was involved in an incident that injured ten people, including children, on October 3.
An 18-year-old driver accused of crashing into a crowd of Newcastle Knights NRL fans has been charged with eight additional offenses, bringing the total to 17. Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe faces new charges including six counts of causing grievous bodily harm by misconduct, one count of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and one count of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
The incident occurred on October 3 in Wallsend, near Newcastle, when ten people, including children, were injured. Authorities allege Samarasinghe lost control of his BMW and drove into the crowd of fans who had gathered to see off the Knights team ahead of the NRL grand final.
Samarasinghe was previously charged with nine offenses, including dangerous driving and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm. He is scheduled to appear in Newcastle Local Court on Thursday and has not yet entered a plea for any of the charges.
He was granted bail last Friday under strict conditions, including daily police reporting, an 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, surrendering his passport, and a ban from driving or being a passenger in a vehicle. He is also prohibited from going within 20 kilometers of Newcastle and from consuming alcohol or drugs.
A five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man were critically injured in the crash. Both have since been upgraded to stable condition. The girl was initially in an induced coma and has undergone multiple surgeries, according to an online fundraiser. The man, identified as Dave 'the Barber' Martin, remains hospitalized but his family expressed hope he would attend his daughter's wedding over the weekend.
Samarasinghe, an apprentice mechanic, previously attended Waverley College, a private Catholic boys' school. His parents are described as having successful careers; his mother is a government service designer, and his father is the Head of Technology at Woolworths Group.