Calls from family of young girl critically injured in horror Newcastle crash into Knights fans
A grandfather and his two granddaughters — aged five and two — were among those struck by the BMW.
A sombre mood has settled over Newcastle on NRL grand final day after a car ploughed into a crowd of Knights fans while they were waving off the team on Saturday.
A grandfather, 67, and his two granddaughters — aged five and two — were among the 10 struck by the BMW convertible, as an 18-year-old P-plater allegedly lost control at a roundabout on Newcastle Link Rd in Wallsend about 9.30am.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sadness settles over NRL grand final day for Newcastle Knights fans.
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Another young fan among the injured, a five-year-old child, remains in an induced coma.
The child’s mother was also seriously injured and will require multiple operations, a fundraiser created to support the young family said.
“Both mum and child now have a long road ahead of them, with ongoing surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation and recovery,” GoFundMe organiser Ashleigh Gibbs said.
“Sadly, because of the severity of their injuries, mum not will be able to work for some time, placing enormous financial pressure on the family while they focus on healing and being there for each other.”
“Our biggest hope is that this family can focus on what matters most — getting through each day, supporting their little one, and recovering together — without having to worry about how they will manage financially.”
Four of the injured victims have been now released from hospital — a 63-year-old woman, and three men, who have revealed that they will still be heading to the NRL grand final at Accor Stadium.
Despite the dogged determination of those surviving Knights fans, there seems to be a general sense of apprehension to continue the exuberant celebration which preceded the tragedy.
Struggling to stomach pre-game celebrations
Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris gave his city permission on Sunrise to hold the spectrum of its emotions on Sunday.
“We’ve experienced the full gamut of emotions haven’t we. The absolute elation of what happened last Sunday and the whole community riding an incredible wave, and all of that was ripped out from under us yesterday,” he said.
“No one foresaw this event. It came as a complete shock.
“Today it is okay to care about both. You can care about the victims and what occurred yesterday, and it is okay to care about the team and what is about to happen throughout today.
“It has been somewhat of torture to go through all of this, and everyone is trying to deal with it.
“This team represents this city’s grit, it represents the fight in us— this supporter group is the best.”
Knights legend Michael Hagan also spoke about the whiplash of emotion on Sunrise: “Yeah, really traumatic yesterday .. That put a real somber moment on things for everybody,” he said.
“I was part of the coaching staff when we were in the bus going down to Sydney in 2001, and it was such an unbelieveable show of support for the team back then, so it was so sad to see that happen yesterday.”
Newcastle Knights legend, Paul Harragon said the parade sending off the Knights has become “iconic” after several grand finals.
“Everyone was so looking forward to it. The tragedy that happened just shook us all,” he said.
He noted the difficult task faced by the Knights players who still need to be game-ready after the blow.
“The cold hard light of day is, you’ve got to perform,” Harragon said. “You’ve got to be in your ideal performance state.”
“The p sychology of it is huge. But I know that they can do it”
Teen driver faces court on game day
Fans swarmed the alleged 18-year-old driver in the moments after the car smashed into the crowd of fans.
He was charged with three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, three counts of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and three counts of cause bodily harm by misconduct.
He was refused police bail to appear in court on Sunday.
The teen’s licence was also suspended, but the Sydney Morning Herald reported the teen’s licence had already been suspended in February.
Originally published on 7NEWS
