Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, the 18-year-old P-plater charged after a car hit a crowd of Newcastle Knights fans at Wallsend on grand final weekend, has been granted bail by Newcastle Local Court.
Judge Trevor Khan granted conditional bail on Friday 9 October 2026 after Samarasinghe’s lawyers made a bail review application, the ABC and the Newcastle Herald reported. Samarasinghe appeared via video link and was released from Silverwater prison on Friday afternoon after six nights in custody, according to the ABC.
The crash happened about 9.30am on Saturday 3 October, when a car struck people gathered at a roundabout on Newcastle Link Road at Wallsend to farewell the Knights team bus ahead of the NRL grand final. Ten people were taken to hospital. Read our earlier coverage of the Wallsend crash.
Charges before the court
Samarasinghe is charged with 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.
He has not yet been required to enter pleas to any of the charges, AAP and the Newcastle Herald reported. The matter is before the courts.
What the court heard
Prosecutors opposed bail, arguing Samarasinghe posed an “unacceptable risk” to the community, the ABC reported. The court heard there was the potential for more charges to be laid, pending ongoing police investigations.
The court also heard police were investigating reports Samarasinghe had been “driving erratically” before the crash, 7NEWS reported.
His barrister, Chun-Yuan Shieh, told the court Samarasinghe had no criminal history, was an apprentice technician and had the support of his parents, the Newcastle Herald reported. The ABC said his legal team submitted there was evidence he had sustained a suspected spinal injury, and 7NEWS reported his barrister told the court the vehicle had “lost traction”.
Judge Khan spoke about the injuries suffered by people who had gathered to wave off the Knights bus. “Some of those injuries are very serious indeed,” he said, according to the ABC.
He said he was bound to consider bail fairly. “It seems to me that this is a case where emotion should not rule the day nor should public opinion,” Judge Khan said. “I am bound by my oath of the provisions of the bail act.”
The Newcastle Herald reported Judge Khan said he could not use bail as a form of punishment or to reflect community outrage.
Bail conditions
The bail conditions reported by the ABC, Newcastle Herald, AAP and 7NEWS include that Samarasinghe must:
- live with his mother at the family home in Randwick, in Sydney’s east
- observe a curfew, which AAP reported runs from 8pm to 7am, and present at the front door for police checks
- report to police daily
- not drive or occupy the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle
- not enter Newcastle except to attend court
- surrender his passport
- not consume alcohol or drugs
- not contact the two passengers who were in the car at the time
Injured fans and next court date
Hunter New England Health said on Friday that three people remained in hospital in a stable condition, AAP reported, and the ABC said the conditions of all 10 patients had improved. A five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man were among those critically injured in the crash.
Samarasinghe is due to face Newcastle Local Court again on Thursday 15 October, AAP and 7NEWS reported.
The Knights went on to lose the grand final to the Sydney Roosters by a single point. Read our grand final report.
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