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Thirteen people were injured, two critically, after a car crashed into a crowd during a demolition derby in southeastern Australia, police said.<\/p>\n
The car had been taking part in a race in the town of Walcha on Saturday night when it drove through a fence and hit the grandstand, New South Wales police said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The race, part of the annual Walcha Motorcycle Rally, had been a demolition derby – a type of motorsport where drivers ram their vehicles into one another.<\/p>\n
Brendan Moylan, a member of parliament for Northern Tablelands, the region where Walcha is located, said on social media on Sunday that nine people remained in hospital and “all are now recovering”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Earlier, police put the number of injured at nine. They said the ages of the injured bystanders ranged from 20 to 75, while a critically injured person was a 54-year-old man. An investigation was under way, they said.<\/p>\n
Police said they were told that the 27-year-old driver of the car had been involved in a collision on the track right before it drove into the fence.<\/p>\n
In a statement published on the Walcha Motorcycle Rally’s Facebook page, the Walcha Council said that it was “shocked and stunned at the unfortunate accident”.<\/p>\n
The Council said it would work with authorities to “examine the circumstances which led to the accident”. <\/p>\n
Giving any comments before concluding the inquiries would be “inappropriate”, it said.<\/p>\n
In a post on Facebook, <\/b>Moylan thanked emergency responders and other bystanders for their “swift and incredibly professional work at the scene”. <\/p>\n
“My thoughts are with everyone affected,” he wrote.<\/p>\n
Barnaby Joyce, former deputy prime minister and incumbent New England lawmaker, wrote on Facebook that his “thoughts, prayer and hopes” were with those injured in the crash.<\/p>\n
“Such a sad end to such a great event,” he wrote.<\/p>\n
The Walcha Motorcycle Rally describes itself as a “grassroots event for motorcycle enthusiasts”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n