SYDNEY, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Ten people were injured when a man drove into a crowd in the Australian city of Newcastle on Saturday after appearing to lose control of the car, authorities said.
The 18-year-old driver was arrested at the scene in the suburb of Wallsend about 110 km (70 miles) north of the New South Wales state capital, Sydney.
When the incident occurred, fans had lined local streets to send off the Newcastle Knights rugby league team, due to compete in the country’s National Rugby League grand final in Sydney on Sunday.
Two of those hospitalised, a 5-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man, were in a critical condition, authorities said.
Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris said the driver seemed to have lost control of the car. “It appears that he was revving the car in some form,” Morris said in televised remarks.
Police said initial indications suggested the incident was not terrorism-related.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and William Mallard)
