A 43-year-old man has been charged after Australian MP Helen Haines was hit by a car in the state of Victoria on Monday. The suspect will appear in court on Wednesday to face charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the federal offence of causing harm to a public official. Local media earlier named the alleged attacker as environmental activist Brendan Nugent.
His father and his partner said they had been friends with Haines "for more than 20 years" and thanked residents and officers who helped her after the "shocking and horrific crime". Haines remains in a critical condition after surgery and is reported to have lost one of her legs. "Helen Haines is a deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community," Rod Nugent and his partner Christine Cunningham said in a statement.
"All of our love and all of our thoughts are with Helen and her family and friends." Haines, 65, the independent member for Indi, is in a critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery at a Melbourne hospital. Helen Haines sits as an independent MP for the electoral division of Indi in Australia's state of Victoria A local barber who was there says he pulled the suspect out of his car.
"I don't think I'm a hero. I think that I was just a person who had an opportunity to intervene in a safe-ish way," said Ricky Jefferies. Others who helped "didn't even check for danger", he added.
"The car was still on and they sat in front of a rolling car, that's not an exaggeration." In their statement, Victoria Police say a highway patrol unit was nearby at the time of the incident and "on scene" within eight seconds of the call coming through.