By Roy Denish.
An 18-year-old of Sri Lankan origin has been remanded after a Newcastle NRL crowd crash injured 10 people, including three children.
NEWCASTLE, Australia – An 18-year-old of Sri Lankan origin has been remanded in custody following a chaotic weekend incident in which a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of rugby supporters, leaving 10 people injured, including three children.
Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe was taken into custody on Saturday morning after his car slammed into fans gathered along Newcastle Link Road at Transfield Avenue.
Thousands of supporters had reportedly lined the street at around 9:30 a.m. to send off the Newcastle Knights rugby league team ahead of an upcoming match.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene to treat the victims, whose ages ranged from two to 67.
Police charged Samarasinghe with several serious offences, including three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, three counts of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and three counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct.
Court documents revealed that Samarasinghe’s driving licence had been suspended in February. He reportedly challenged the suspension in April, but a judge subsequently dismissed his appeal.
Appearing in a bail court on Sunday, Samarasinghe waived his right to apply for bail, and the judge formally remanded him.
His defence lawyer, Nicholas Cruz, asked the court to order a medical and psychological assessment through prison health authorities.
Prosecutors and court officials noted that the most serious charges against Samarasinghe carry a maximum sentence of up to seven years’ imprisonment.
Meanwhile, investigators have examined social media profiles reportedly belonging to the suspect, where he is pictured posing alongside a BMW said to match the make and model of the car involved in the incident.
Samarasinghe is due to return to court on October 15.
