Update on five-year-old girl critically injured in NRL grand final fan crash as her condition improves

By SARAH SPINA-MATTHEWS FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS 05:34 05 Oct 2026, updated 05:40 05 Oct 2026

Four football fans remain in hospital after a car ploughed into them as they waited to cheer on their team ahead of the weekend’s NRL grand final.

P-plater Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, 18, was allegedly behind the wheel of a BMW when it careered into a crowd gathered by a roundabout at Wallsend, near Newcastle, on Saturday morning.

The crowd was waiting to farewell the Newcastle Knights on their journey to Sydney to play in the NRL grand final, which they narrowly lost to the Roosters on Sunday.

The incident left ten people in hospital, including a five-year-old girl who was initially in a critical condition.

NSW Health on Monday said six of the patients had been discharged, with three still in hospital in a stable condition.

One patient, who AAP understands is the five-year-old girl, is now in a serious but stable condition.

Samarasinghe faced court on Sunday after being charged over the incident. He did not apply to be released from custody and was formally refused bail.

Among those injured was Chris Clancy, who said there was a carnival atmosphere at the roundabout with cars beeping their horns and people waving before the disaster unfolded.

‘The next thing, this car stops (at) the roundabout and then he just floored it on the wet ground, lost it,’ he told AAP.

‘It happened in seconds, but when you stand there, seeing the car coming at you, I honestly thought I was going to die. It just felt like slow motion.’

Mr Clancy suffered fractures in his ribs, spine and foot, and a broken collarbone.

Investigators did not believe the incident was deliberate but previously declined to comment on reports the vehicle was being driven erratically before the crash.

Samarasinghe was taken to hospital for mandatory testing and subsequently charged with nine offences, including dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving and causing bodily harm by misconduct.

The bail court was told the most serious offence of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm carried a maximum jail term of seven years.

Samarasinghe will next appear at Newcastle Local Court on October 15.

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