Car allegedly used as weapon outside Royal Family Hotel in Port Elliot, South Australia
Written by admin on October 6, 2024
A man is fighting for life after he and three others were pinned against the wall of a pub by a car after an altercation.
The incident happened about 1.30am Saturday in the town of Port Elliot, 80kms south of Adelaide.
A man in his 30s has been charged with causing harm by dangerous driving and leaving the scene of a crash after allegedly reversing into a crowd of people.
A witness described seeing a lot of blood and footage shows the hotel sidewalk strewn with injured people, paramedics and medical equipment.
Closed circuit cameras captured a group of people hitting a blue Ford Focus on the street outside the Royal Family Hotel.
The driver then allegedly reversed and pinned four people against the pub wall.
A 22-year-old man from Hindmarsh Island suffered serious life-threatening injuries to his lower body and was flown to an Adelaide hospital, police say.
A man and woman in their 20s and another woman in her 30s sustained minor injuries.
The seriously injured man works at the hotel. The venue was busy at the start of a long weekend in South Australia, and the incident happened after last drinks as patrons were exiting.
Police allege the driver fled the scene, dumped the car but then returned on foot where he was arrested.
The alleged offender is a 37-year-old from New South Wales who was refused bail and is expected in court on Tuesday.
He was refused bail and faces charges of causing harm by dangerous driving, due care and leaving the scene of a crash.
Police have asked anyone with information or footage of the incident to come forward.
“There was clearly an altercation that occurred, but what happened after that altercation is obviously completely unacceptable,” Inspector Gene Vaninetti told media on Saturday.
The car was reversed into the crowd, the Inspector alleged, and added he was surprised nobody was killed.
“A vehicle can very much be used as a weapon if used in the wrong way. It was accelerated at speed into a group of people,” he alleged.
It was unclear if the victims and alleged offender knew each other, as there were a large number of people at the hotel that evening, he said.
Witnesses had told police the alleged driver was driving erratically before the incident, but police had yet to confirm that, the Inspector said.
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