Man charged after Australian MP Helen Haines struck by car
Victoria police say a man faces three charges over the alleged attack on the independent MP, who remains critically injured. He is due in court on Wednesday.
Australian police charged a man on Tuesday, 20 October, over the alleged car attack on independent MP Helen Haines outside her office in Wangaratta, Victoria. Haines was critically injured, and the man remains in custody ahead of a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday, 21 October, police said, according to AFP.
Victoria police said the charges were dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the federal offence of harming a public official, AFP reported. The charges mark a change from earlier on Tuesday, when federal and state police said they were still working to identify possible offences, including harm to a Commonwealth public official.
What happened outside Helen Haines’s office
Haines was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser outside her Wangaratta office on Monday, 19 October, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC national broadcaster that the vehicle made a U-turn before hitting her. He called the act deliberate and said it was not a case of a driver accidentally skidding off the road.
Police described the alleged attack as targeted, according to AFP. Albanese said the alleged attacker’s motive was unknown. The charges concern the man’s alleged conduct; police have not established a motive in the reporting available so far.
Haines, 65, underwent surgery overnight and remained in critical condition at a Melbourne hospital, Reuters reported. Australian media outlets reported that she had lost a leg. Euronews attributed that account to the ABC and the Sydney Morning Herald; the details of her injuries were reported by those outlets rather than announced by police in the charge update.
Police charges and Wednesday’s court appearance
The man is due to face court on Wednesday, 21 October, police said, according to AFP. Reuters had earlier reported that police were considering the federal offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment. The AFP charge report identifies three offences but does not set out the evidence police will present in court.
A bystander intervened after the collision and restrained the driver, Reuters reported, citing witness accounts and Australian media reporting. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio that witnesses said Haines had been struck twice by the vehicle before the intervention. Those accounts describe the incident; the alleged attacker’s motive remains unknown.
An earlier NewsJaws report on the Helen Haines attack covered the police assessment of the threat and the search for possible charges. The new development is that police say charges have been brought and a court appearance has been scheduled.
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Sources and context
- Australia police say man charged after lawmaker hit by carAFP, republished by Channel NewsAsia
- ‘Deliberate’ car ramming of Australian MP an isolated incident, police sayReuters, republished by Al Jazeera
- Australian lawmaker hurt in car attack loses leg, media sayEuronews
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.