As the Newcastle Knights departed for their first NRL Grand Final in over 25 years, electric excitement soon turned into horror when ten supporters were injured after they were hit by an out-of-control car.
But amid the chaos that left a five-year-old girl with critical injuries and a further five in hospital – Novocastrians have stepped up to help out wherever they can.
“I felt sick when I found out what happened,” Rachel March, who has launched a GoFundMe to support the victims, tells Woman’s Day.
“The vibes in Newy have been at an all-time high over the past week, so for something so traumatic to happen while everyone was waving the boys off just guts you.”
GENEROUS COMMUNITY
As the Knights NRL team were leaving Newcastle on Saturday morning, a BMW allegedy driven by 18-year-old P-plater Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe crashed into a crowd of supporters who were waving the team off.
The driver was taken to hospital for mandatory testing and has been charged with nine offences including dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving and causing bodily harm by misconduct.
He was refused bail, and will appear in Newcastle local court on October 15.
At the time of writing, six of the 10 people injured in the crash are still in hospital.
Rachel says she was stuck in traffic behind the crash shortly after it occured, and felt sick when she learned that children as young as two years old were involved in the collision.
To help ease the financial burden on the victims, Rachel – a mum-of-three –started a GoFundMe that’s already raised nearly $8,000.
She says she’s not surprised that the community has been so generous.
“Back in 2019, my son had a major medical event that resulted in him needing a pacemaker and a six-week hopsital stay when I was five months post-partum with twins,” she says.
“A friend set up a GoFundMe for us during this time, so I personally know what it feels like to have a community come together and help when your whole world has stopped.”
She says this kind of support makes an enormous difference.
“There’s nothing quite like feeling that love and knowing your community is holding you up when you need it,” she says. “It is everything.”
LOVE AND SUPPORT
Shortly after news of the crash broke, the captain of the Knights, Kalyn Ponga took to social media to share his support.
“Our hearts are with everyone affected in Wallsend this morning,” he wrote on Instagram.
“We’re thinking of you, your families and everyone in our Newcastle community. Sending our love and support.”
Now the team is back in Newcastle after they were defeated by the Sydney Roosters by just a point on Sunday night – Rachel hopes the team is planning something special for their fans that are still in hospital.
“I don’t know if anything is planned, but it would be so incredible to see the boys do something for them,” she says.
“A hospital visit would be epic… imagine that! That would mean a lot to the people affected, especially the kids. Those boys are their heroes.”
