The 18-year-old P-plate driver who ploughed into a crowd of Newcastle Knights supporters on Saturday and injured 10 people, some critically, previously had his driving licence suspended.
asserted
licence → plough → people
Court records show Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe was suspended in February and appealed against the suspension in April, but was unsuccessful.
asserted
Samarasinghe → show → April
Samarasinghe was arrested at the crash site and taken for mandatory drug and alcohol testing.
asserted
Samarasinghe → arrest → testing
He was later charged with three counts each of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and causing bodily harm by misconduct in charge of a motor vehicle.
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He → charge → vehicle
His licence has again been suspended.
asserted
licence → suspend → ?
Samarasinghe was refused bail and will face court on Sunday.
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Samarasinghe → refuse → Sunday
Of the 10 people injured as they lined a Newcastle street to wave off the Knights to the NRL grand final, the most serious is a five-year-old girl who was in a stable condition in John Hunter Hospital on Sunday morning.
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who → injure → morning
A 67-year-old patient was in a serious but stable condition, and four others, including a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old girl, were stable.
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others → include → old
Four had been discharged, including three men in their 20s and a 63-year-old woman.
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Four → discharge → 20s
One of the injured, Chris Clancy, said the car appeared to speed up as it went through a roundabout, and then lost control on the wet road.
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it → injure → road
“No-one had time to move,” he said.
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he → have → time
“I thought I was going to die, it happened so fast.”
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it → think → ?
Fans at the crash site rushed to provide first aid as emergency crews rushed to the scene and word of the collision spread through the tens of thousands of excited fans waiting for a glimpse of their team.
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word → rush → team
The team’s bus, which had not yet departed when the crash occurred, was rerouted, and players were informed.
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players → depart → ?
“They were shocked, it was a very sombre bus ride,” said one of those aboard.
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one → shock → those
“Our fans mean everything to us.
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fans → mean → us
For that to happen; horrible.”
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that → happen → ?
The car that Samarasinghe was allegedly driving has been seized to undergo forensic examination.
uncertain
Samarasinghe → drive → examination
The two male passengers in the vehicle at the time of the crash, aged 18 and 19, were both uninjured.
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passengers → age → crash
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner David Waddell said officers were investigating reports the P-plater had been “driving erratically” before he lost control of the vehicle.
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he → say → vehicle
Footage posted to social media depicted the BMW careering around the roundabout moments before the crash, as shocked onlookers were heard screaming.
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onlookers → post → crash
Onlookers expressed anger towards the occupants of the car after the crash, police said.
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police → express → crash
“We had to get the three of them out of there because the crowd did turn on them,” Waddell said.
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Waddell → have → them
Witness Dean Liddell said he could hear the vehicle coming towards the crowd and then “all hell broke loose”.
uncertain
hell → say → crowd
“I watched the little girl get dragged underneath the car.
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girl → watch → car
Seeing the whole scene unfold, it took me 10 minutes until I could say anything to anyone,” Liddell said.
uncertain
Liddell → see → anyone
He said the crowd grabbed the driver from the wreck and a scuffle began before police intervened.
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police → say → wreck
“If the copper wasn’t there, the driver would have had massive injuries as well,” he said.
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he → have → injuries
The accident came after a joyous week in Newcastle, where the city threw its support behind a team that has not won a premiership for 25 years.
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that → come → years
The Knights had been expected to be inspired by the joy of their supporters during the grand final, but will now also feel the weight of the tragedy when they take the field.
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they → expect → field
Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga said on social media that players’ “hearts are with everyone affected” by the crash.
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hearts → say → crash
“We’re thinking of you, your families and everyone in our Newcastle community.”
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We → think → community
Longtime league watchers say no other grand final has been played under such a shadow.
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final → say → shadow
“It’s heartbreaking for the whole rugby league community, not just in Newcastle,” said Brad Fittler, a former Roosters captain and a member of the league hall of fame.
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Fittler → ’ → fame
“We’ve never seen anything like this ahead of a grand final and it puts everything in perspective.”
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it → see → perspective
Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman Peter V’Landys said he was deeply saddened by the crash.
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he → say → crash
When asked whether it would affect plans for Sunday night’s game, he said “we’re just concerned about the victims at the moment.”
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we → ask → moment
NSW Premier Chris Minns said it was heartbreaking to see fans who were sending off their grand final team involved in such a terrible incident.
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team → say → incident
“My thoughts are with the families and friends of loved ones who have been involved or injured in the crash.
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who → love → crash
I also want to thank emergency services, including police and ambulance, who are responding to this tragedy”, the premier said.
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premier → want → tragedy
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
