A 24-year-old man has been charged over a fiery crash in Newcastle, New South Wales, that claimed the lives of two international students on Saturday night.
Emergency services were called to Maitland Road, Mayfield East, at about 11:15pm after a car veered off the road, struck a power pole, and burst into flames. Passers-by pulled the driver and a 19-year-old back-seat passenger from the wreckage, both suffering minor injuries.
Two other passengers, aged 20 and 21, were freed by emergency crews and taken to John Hunter Hospital with critical burns but died shortly afterwards.
Following an investigation by the Crash Investigation Unit, police charged the driver with eight offences, including two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and negligent driving occasioning death. He has been refused bail and is due to face court on Wednesday.
All four men were from Bangladesh and studying at the University of Newcastle. Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Belinda Tynan described the incident as a “tragic loss” and said support is being offered to students and staff.
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