Thirteen people were injured when a demolition derby car crashed into spectators in southeastern Australia on Saturday evening.
The freak accident occurred at the Motorcycle Rally showground in Walcha, a rural town in New South Wales, where a driver called Steven Taylor collided with another vehicle and ploughed into the crowd.
The rally is a major annual event for the regional town. In addition to the demolition derby, the Walcha Motorcycle Rally features a motorcycle street procession, a show and shine, barrel racing, postie bike events, and Postie Bike Soccer.
New South Wales police said the vehicle lost control after an on-track collision and broke through a barrier before hitting a mobile grandstand, News.com.au reported.
Emergency services airlifted a man in his 50s with spinal and hip injuries and another in his 30s with a head injury to a regional hospital in serious but stable condition.
The other 11 victims, aged between 20 and 75, were treated at hospitals in Walcha, Armidale and Tamworth. Six had serious injuries.
Taylor, 27, the driver, was treated at the scene for minor injuries and taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
Footage from the rally showed a yellow speedway car ploughing directly towards the spectators, breaking through the perimeter fence, and knocking down a marquee.
The driver’s brother, Blake Taylor, explained in a post on Facebook that he “hit a car in the middle of the field” and “blacked out”.
He confirmed his brother was out of the hospital and asked for some time for him as he and the family were “very overwhelmed as to what’s happened”.
ABC News quoted Hunter NSW Ambulance inspector Luke Wiseman as reporting that the remaining victims were stable.
The police said specialists from the Crash Investigation Unit were examining the crash scene and video evidence.
The demolition derby car had been seized for forensic inspection, they added.
In an update on Sunday afternoon, they confirmed the driver was involved in a collision immediately before the crash and he wasn’t accused of wrongdoing. Mandatory testing was carried out at the hospital.
Northern Tablelands MP Brendan Moylan said nine people remained in hospital on Sunday but were all recovering and added that the community was getting support from local authorities.
Mayor Eric Noakes told ABC News that there was a sombre mood in Walcha on Sunday as residents absorbed the scale of the accident.
“And that is totally around our worries and prayers and thoughts for the people impacted. Shows run every year and we’ve never seen anything like this,” he said, adding that he personally felt “hollow and gutted” for visitors who “came here to have a good time”.
Australian Demolition Derby Association vice president Shane Ryan said that his “stomach turned” watching the livestream.
“It was just a horrible thing that should have never happened and I hope it never happens again,” he told ABC News.
“Obviously this was a freak accident and these are the kinds of things that can happen – it is an unpredictable sport.”
