An 18-year-old P-plater accused of ploughing into Newcastle Knights supporters gathered to farewell the team before the NRL grand final has been granted bail after spending six days behind bars.
Police allege Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe was driving a gold 2006 BMW cabriolet when he lost control in Newcastle, north of Sydney, on the morning of October 3.
A five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man suffered critical injuries in the collision. Both have since improved and are now listed in serious but stable conditions.
Ten people were injured in the incident. Six have been discharged from hospital, while four remain receiving treatment.
Samarasinghe, a former private school student, was arrested at the scene before being taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
He has been 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.
Samarasinghe was remanded in custody after appearing in court on Sunday. On Friday, he appeared via video link from Sydney’s Silverwater jail for a bail hearing at Newcastle Local Court.
The apprentice mechanic appeared on screen wearing a white neck brace and made the sign of the cross before the proceedings began.
Police allege Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, 18, was driving a gold 2006 BMW cabriolet when he lost control in Newcastle, north of Sydney, on October 3
Indika has been 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 were critically injured in the crash, but both later improved to serious but stable conditions
The court heard that further charges are expected. Judge Trevor Khan described the crash as “extraordinary” during the bail hearing.
“It’s serious, people have sustained very serious injuries,” he said.
“It was a day where there were red and blue jumpers everywhere, all along the roads, thousands of people along the roads.
“Thousands use this roadway and I’ve got to say none of them end up having spun out off the roadway.”
Samarasinghe’s lawyer argued that the teenager would be especially vulnerable in custody because of his age and a reported diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Judge Khan, however, described the supporting evidence as “weak” and questioned the basis for the diagnosis.
“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.
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“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.
Samarsinghe is not allowed out between 8pm and 7am and must always be accompanied by at least one of his parents (pictured) during the day
Samarasinghe graduated last year from Sydney’s 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 Nic Bambrick in Sydney with strict conditions surrounding his release.
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 told to surrender his passport, report to police daily, banned from taking drink or drugs and must not drive.
He is scheduled to return to Newcastle Local Court on October 15.
The Daily Mail has previously revealed Samarasinghe graduated last year from Sydney’s independent Catholic boys’ school Waverley College.
Samarasinghe has lived on one of the prettiest streets in Randwick, in Sydney’s east, with his designer-loving mum and younger brother for almost five years.
Neighbours of his $4million family home said his 20-year-old flash BMW with personalised INDIKA plates was notorious locally for its noisy engine.
His mother is a service designer who works for the Australian Digital Health Agency, and bought the semi-detached four-bedroom home with her sons’ father, Sunil Samarasinghe, in early 2022.
Sunil, who is originally from the UK and is head of technology at the Woolworths Group, lives separately in Woollahra, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
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.
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