An 18-year-old driver accused of crashing into a crowd of Newcastle Knights supporters has reportedly been placed at risk of a revenge attack after a relative of one of the injured spectators allegedly arranged a “hit” through outlaw motorcycle gang associates.
Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe was granted bail on Friday, six days after the crash injured 10 people, including children, as thousands gathered to see off the Knights before the NRL grand final.
The teenager’s safety has reportedly become a major concern for authorities amid claims that a family member of one of the injured fans has connections to the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang.
Police were allegedly alerted to a serious threat within hours of Samarasinghe’s arrest, raising fears he could be attacked while in custody.
“It’s a family member of one of the people who got hurt,” a source familiar with the investigation told the Daily Mail on Friday.
“We heard he had put out a hit on the kid through his bikie mates. Police have to take that kind of information very seriously.
“He was immediately placed on a high-risk prisoner list and transferred from Newcastle to Sydney.”
Asked about the alleged threat against Samarasinghe, a NSW Police spokesperson said: “No comment will be provided at this time as the matter is before the court.”
Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, 18, (left) was allegedly driving his gold 2006 BMW cabriolet when he lost control in Newcastle, north of Sydney, on the morning of October 3
Tearful and carrying a transparent bag of belongings, with a cross around his neck, Indika Samarasinghe (right) arrives home with his mother (left) after securing bail
Samarasinghe 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 causing bodily harm by misconduct in charge of a motor vehicle
A five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man suffered critical injuries in the crash before their conditions improved to serious but stable. The aftermath is pictured
Samarasinghe, who faces nine charges over the incident, was released from the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater on Friday. His bail conditions include a night-time curfew, daily reporting to police and a total ban on driving.
The court heard that additional charges may be laid. Judge Trevor Khan described the crash as “extraordinary”.
“It’s serious. People have sustained very serious injuries,” he said.
“It was a day where there was red and blue jumpers everywhere all along the roads. Thousands of people [were] along the roads.
“Thousands use this roadway and I’ve got to say none of them end up having spun out off the roadway.”
The court was told Samarasinghe had previously been caught driving more than 10km/h above the speed limit while holding a provisional licence. He was also detected speeding on two other occasions.
His lawyer argued that Samarasinghe would be vulnerable in custody because he is young and had reportedly been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Judge Khan rejected the evidence as “weak” and questioned the basis on which the diagnosis had been made.
Samarasinghe is not allowed out between 8pm and 7am and must always be accompanied by at least one of his parents (pictured together) during the day
Samarasinghe graduated last year from independent Catholic boys’ school Waverley College
Samarasinghe was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital for mandatory testing
Samarasinghe was released on bail into the care of his mother Nicola ‘Nik’ Bambrick (pictured) in Sydney with strict conditions surrounding his release
Father Sunil Samarasinghe (pictured), who is originally from the UK and is head of technology at the Woolworths Group, lives separately in Woollahra, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs
‘An accredited mental health social worker who has not said how they came to the conclusion that he has PTSD, that seems pretty light,’ he said.
‘I’m not giving it much weight. How have they come to this conclusion?
‘I have to say your client is 18, not been in jail before… if he is not suffering stress, I don’t know when he would.’
Despite his reservations about the medical evidence, Judge Khan said it was not the court’s role to use bail as a form of punishment.
‘My job is not to reflect community outrage,’ he said.
Samarasinghe was released on strict bail conditions into the care of his mother Nicola ‘Nik’ Bambrick in Sydney.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: New York City Triathlon Returns as Athletes Brave the Hudson River
He is not allowed out between 8pm and 7am and must always be accompanied by at least one of his parents during the day.
Samarasinghe was ordered to surrender his passport and report to police daily, and is banned from entering an international airport, drinking alcohol, taking drugs and driving.
Judge Khan added: ‘Is there any other passports? I know you can’t draw conclusion based from a name, but people do.’
His lawyer confirmed that the accused was born in Australia, was Australian and only had an Australian passport.
The teenager appeared before Newcastle Local Court via video link in a neck brace, although his barrister, Chun-Yuan Shieh, declined to answer questions from waiting reporters about why he was wearing it.
A five-year-old girl and a man, 67, were both critically injured in the crash, but their conditions later improved to serious but stable.
Nik Bambrick dodged questions from 7News reporter Clementine Cuneo after her son got bail
Samarasinghe, supported by his mother, tried to cover his face as reporters for 7News and Channel Nine peppered him with questions
Six of the 10 people injured in the incident have been discharged, but four remain in hospital.
The Daily Mail understands Samarasinghe became overwhelmed with emotion during his initial police interview after learning that a young girl was among those fighting for life following the crash.
‘He was informed that one of the people rushed to hospital was a young child and, at that stage, she was in a critical condition,’ the source said.
‘He broke down sobbing when he heard that, and he was genuinely remorseful.’
The alleged bikie threat emerged as the teenager and his family became the targets of an extraordinary wave of online abuse after social media users identified him through his BMW’s distinctive personalised number plate ‘INDIKA’.
Within hours of the crash, his name, photographs and personal information had been circulated online, along with details identifying relatives and friends.
‘People found his TikTok accounts and there were a lot of public threats to his safety and his mates too,’ the source said.
It comes after the Mail revealed exclusive details about Samarasinghe’s background as a privately educated eastern suburbs teen with successful, multicultural parents.
Samarasinghe, who attended the prestigious Catholic boys’ school Waverley College, was known on the quiet, tree-lined cul-de-sac where he lives in a $4million home for two things: his gold BMW with personalised number plates and the noise it made.
He has lived on one of the prettiest streets in Randwick, in Sydney’s east, with his designer-loving mum and younger brother Cassius for almost five years.
His mother Nik, a NSW Government service designer who works for the Australian Digital Health Agency, bought her semi-detached four-bedroom home with her sons’ father, Sunil Samarasinghe, in early 2022.
Sunil, who is originally from the UK and is the Head of Technology at the Woolworths Group, lives at a different address in the eastern suburbs, at Woollahra.
On since-deleted social media accounts, Samarasinghe appeared to have a carefree life clubbing with friends and travelling overseas with his mother and brother, most recently visiting Japan.
Soon after getting his licence, Samarasinghe started driving the 2006 gold BMW convertible with the registration plate ‘INDIKA’, which he parked on his home street.
According to different neighbours, the vehicle was ‘noisy’, as though it lacked conventional soundproofing devices such as a muffler or exhaust baffle.
‘He said, “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” Like, he didn’t refuse to listen, he wasn’t rude or arrogant, he was quite polite.’
Another resident, however, said they hadn’t seen Samarasinghe speeding the car in the street, adding that he, his mother and brother were ‘nice people, good neighbours’, and that Indika was often seen ‘in his school uniform, parking the car across the street’.
Samarasinghe went to Waverley College through to Year 10, and is believed to have changed to a different school after that.
He was reported as having his licence suspended in February this year.
Both his mother and father declined to speak with the Mail, with Nicola Bambrick telling us: ‘I have been told not to say anything.’
When the red P-plater was arrested last Saturday and his distinctive vehicle was shown in media coverage, many of his neighbours were in shock.
One said, ‘I’m sorry for the people who were hurt. I feel for all sides in this.’