Man Charged With Assaulting Paramedic In Mayfield

BY JARROD MELMETH

A man will appear in court next month following the alleged assault of a paramedic in Newcastle yesterday.

About 1:20pm yesterday, ambulance were called to a unit on Bull Street in Mayfield where a man was transported to the Calvary Mater Hospital.

On the way, it's alleged the 32-year-old became abusive towards a female paramedic punching her in the ribs knocking her over in the back of the vehicle.

She managed to escape the attack, through the door of the ambulance, its then alleged the patient followed behind her continuing his verbal abuse before walking away.

Both paramedics reported the matter to police later arrested the man at the Bull Street residence. 

The man was taken to Newcastle Police Station where he was charged with assaulting an ambulance officer.

He was given conditional bail to appear in Newcastle Local Court on May 16.

State Government planning to move ambulance bill collection to Revenue NSW

BY JARROD MELMETH

Debt collectors could be unleashed on unsuspecting residents in the Hunter and across the state who have an outstanding ambulance bill under new laws proposed by the NSW Government.

Under the current laws, a person with an outstanding ambulance debt – unable to pay the fee could seek to have work order applied to address the matter, but under the proposed changes the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue is authorised to take action without taking court action.

Cessnock MP and Shadow Minister for Finance, Services and Property Clayton Barr has labelled the proposed changes as an extremely tough and heartless approach.

"The government are proposing to move to a very heavy-handed draconian-style model where there will be no prisoners taken. It will just seek to seize property, seize assets, seize payments and make sure that ambulance bill is paid, no matter what your circumstances are," Mr Barr said.

The State Debt Recovery Bill 2017 was first introduced into the NSW Parliament in November last year and only recently passed the Legislative Assembly last week and is set to be debated in parliament this week.

Shadow Minister for Health Walt Secord said the changes will affect those who are most vulnerable in our community.

"We will have a situation where elderly patients with chest pains will hesitate calling an ambulance in a life-threatening situation - or delay their call until it is too late. Lives will be put at risk," Mr Secord said.

Pictured: Clayton Barr.

UPDATE: Pilot Injured In Light Plane Crash At Luskintyre

BY IAN CROUCH


The pilot of a light plane has been taken to hospital after crash landing at Luskintyre Airfield last night.

The 66-year-old took off in his single-engine de Havilland Canada Chipmunk at about 7.00pm and was about 200 metres off the ground when the aircraft experienced partial engine failure.

He managed to turn the plane around to head back to the airfield, but crash-landed the aircraft on its belly in a nearby paddock.

The pilot suffered minor injuries to his right leg and elbow and was taken to the John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority are investigating the crash.

A de Havilland Canada DHC Chipmunk Similar To The One Involved In A Crash Landing At Luskintyre Airfield

EARLIER
Authorities are investigating a plane crash at Luskintyre.

Emergency services were called to the Luskintyre Airfield at about 7.30pm on Tuesday to reports a light plane had crash landed.

It's understood the male pilot was taken to hospital with a minor leg injury.

The circumstances surrounding the crash are not clear at this stage.

More details to come.

Accident Closes New England Highway At Ravensworth

BY IAN CROUCH

Traffic is slowly getting back to normal following a two car smash at Ravensworth.

The accident happened on the New England Highway just before 5.00am on Tuesday.

A 21-year-old man was taken by road ambulance to Singleton Hospital with a minor foot injury.

The highway was blocked in both directions for more than an hour but the accident scene is now cleared, although there's still heavy traffic in the area.

Serious Crash Closes Denman Road At Denman

BY IAN CROUCH

Emergency services have been called to a serious accident at Denman in the Upper Hunter.

It's understood a car and a truck collided head-on just after 4.00am on Tuesday on Denman Road about 12 kilometres south of Muswellbrook.

The condition of the drivers is not known at this stage.

Denman Road is closed in both directions between the Golden Highway and Edderton Road.

Light vehicles are being diverted via  the Golden Highway and Edderton Road.

Heavy vehicles are being parked by the side of the road, otherwise truck divers are being urged to use the New England Highway and they're being advised to allow about 75 minutes in extra travel time.

Denman Road is likely to remain closed for some time.

Teen Girl Dies In Pedestrian Accident At Brandy Hill

BY IAN CROUCH

A 15-year-old girl has been tragically killed after being hit by a car this morning at Brandy Hill.

Port Stephens police were called to Warrigal Close at about 7.30am.

Paramedics worked to revive the girl, but she died at the scene.

A man in his 40's who was driving the car has been taken for mandatory testing and is assisting police with their inquiries.

Motorbike rider collides with car at New Lambton

BY JESSICA ROUSE & JARROD MELMETH

A motorcycle rider has suffered a serious leg injury after colliding with a car in New Lambton on Monday night.

NSW Ambulance said they were called to the scene just after 6pm where they treated a man in his late 40's who is believed to have suffered a near-amputation of his right leg and a suspected broken arm. 

The man was taken to the John Hunter Hospital in a serious condition.

It's believed the 24-year-old female driver of the car was turning right onto regent street from Rugby road when she collided with the motorcyclist.

The woman was uninjured.

Near Drowning Victim Remains In Intensive Care At John Hunter Hospital

BY IAN CROUCH

A 67-year-old man remains in a critical condition in the John Hunter Hospital after being pulled unconscious from the surf at Dixon Park Beach.

He was seen standing on a sand bar about 20 metres from shore at at 10.30am on Thursday before he was spotted floating face down in the water.

The man had been in the water for under a minute when lifeguards pulled him from the surf and began CPR.

Paramedics arrived a short time later and managed to restart his heart using adrenaline - they've praised the efforts of the lifeguards, saying it demonstrates the importance of carrying out CPR as soon as possible.

Woman Dead and Man Fighting for Life in the John Hunter Hospital after Tragic Car Accident

BY JESSICA ROUSE and JARROD MELMETH

The Hunter's Westpac Rescue Helicopter has been tasked to a major car accident on the Central Coast where one woman was tragically killed.

NSW Ambulance say they were called to the one car accident in Erina on the Central Coast Highway just before 10am.

They arrived to find an elderly couple unconscious in the car. The male driver was trapped in the vehicle for some time before he was freed. The 67-year-old was initially reported to have neck and back injuries and also went into cardiac arrest.

He was last reported to be in a critical condition and has been flown to the John Hunter Hospital with head injuries..

The female passenger had lacerations to her head and sadly died at the scene.

A crime scene has been established and police are calling for any witnesses to come forward.

Emergency services have helped to free a man from a car after a horror smash on the Central Coast Highway at Erina this morning @nbnnews pic.twitter.com/rGitNek9Vb

— Jacinta Lee (@jacinta_lee3) January 8, 2018

Two Men, in Two Days, Knocked off their Bikes on The Same Newcastle Street

BY JESSICA ROUSE

In what may seem like a coincidence, two men within 24 hours have been knocked off their push bikes in Wickham.

This morning a man in his late 50s was knocked off his bike at around 10:30 by a parked car door opening in front of him on Hannell Street near Throsby Street.

He was taken to the John Hunter Hospital with injuries to his face and left arm in a stable condition.

It comes after a 75-year-old man was knocked off his bike on the same street by a car door opening at about 10:40 yesterday morning.

He was also taken to the John Hunter Hospital complaining of a neck injury as well as some cuts and grazes.

Two different ambulance paramedic crews were called to the jobs on the separate days.

Girl Hurt In Gymnastics Accident At Raymond Terrace

BY IAN CROUCH

A 16-year-old girl has been flown to the spinal unit at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital after a gymnastics accident at Raymond Terrace.

Ambulance paramedics were called to a gym in Sturgeon Street at about 7.30pm on Tuesday where it's understood the girl had landed heavily on her back.

She was treated at the scene before being airlifted to Sydney by the Hunter's Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

Mystery Donor Hands over $5 Million Cheque to HMRI

BY JESSICA ROUSE

An anonymous donor has handed over a $5.2 million cheque to the Hunter Medical Research Insitute.

The generous philanthropic gift will go towards advancing emergency out-of-hospital patient treatment over the next five years.

The HMRI will work jointly with NSW Ambulance and Hunter New England Health to improve patient care, particularly in rural areas.

When asked if we could get a hint as to who the mystery donor was, Professor Michael Nilsson, the Director of the HMRI just laughed and said they're simply over the moon.

"We need to keep the secret, that's how it is when it's annonymous! But a fantastic transformational transofrmation, the largest in HMRI history by far," said Professor Nilsson.

"Sometimes donations at this level have great rings on the water effect and we are really hopeful that it will increase the focus on the good job we are doing here with all of the partners. It's fantastic and we are so happy today."

NSW Ambulance will be able to extend their training services from facilities, to upgrading and renewing education euqipment, including advanced technology simuulation mannikins which will all make emergency service care even more effective than it already is.

It aims to benefit regions outside of metropolitan cities to guarantee the same level of training, knowledge and service as bigger regions.

"I'm particularly happy that it's going to an area that is in defiente need, out-of-hospital careand upscaling of the ambulance to another level, that's fantastic and really proves the dedication of the communtiy I think," said HMRI Director Dr Nillson.

Image supplied.

Car Crash Ravensworth: Updated

BY IAN CROUCH

Five people including a young child have been taken to hospital following a three vehicle crash at Ravensworth.

A truck and two cars collided on the New England Highway at about 4.45am on Tuesday.

Three ambulances transported four adults and a one year old child to hospital.

The most seriously injured was a 53-year-old man who sustained a suspected fractured wrist and a deep cut to his scalp - he was taken to the John Hunter Hospital.

The Ambulance Service says all the other patients were taken to Singleton and Muswellbrook Hospitals with only minor injuries.

The highway has since been re-opened to traffic.


EARLIER:
Emergency services have been called to reports of a three vehicle crash at Ravenswortth.

The crash happened on the New England Highway new the old New England Highway north of Ravensworth at about 4.45am on Tuesday.

Traffic is affected in both directions with a contra flow in place.

Vacy Man Killed at Mindaribba

UPDATE

A 36-year-old man has been tragically killed in a smash near Maitland this morning.

Emergency crews were called to Tocal Road at Mindaribba just after 6 o'clock following reports a car had slammed into a tree.

They arrived to find the Vacy man dead at the scene.

A report is being prepared for the Coroner while investigations continue.

BY IAN CROUCH

One person has died in a single vehicle crash at Mindaribba.

Emergency services were called to Tocal Road near the Mindaribba Railway Station at 6.15am on Monday to reports a car had slammed into a tree.

They arrived to find one person dead at the scene.

No other details are available at this stage.

Motorcyclist taken to John Hunter in Stable Condition

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Traffic is returning to normal on University Drive at Main Road in Callaghan after an accident this morning.

Emergency services were called to the roundabout on University Drive at 8am following reports a motorcycle had collided with a car.

The motorcycle rider is believed to be a man aged in his 30s and has been taken to the John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition.

He's suffering pain in his shoulder and leg and has a serious ankle injury.

Ambulance Transporting Patient Luckily Drives past another Accident on Maitland Road

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Emergency services are on the scene of a car and truck accident on Maitland Road at Sandgate.

In what could be a lucky turn of events, just before 1:15pm an ambulance transporting another patient drove past the scene.

One 67-year-old male is trapped and being extracted - he's reportedly suffering spinal and stomach pain.

A 63-year-old woman has been taken to the John Hunter Hospital and is being treated for shoulder pain.

There are some traffic delays with one southbound lane closed.

Carnage in Singleton

BY JESSICA ROUSE

There are scenes of carnage in Singleton after a fiery truck crash this morning.

NSW Ambulance received a Triple Zero call from a member of the public just before 9am with reports of a serious accident involving a truck and several cars on George Street in Singleton.

Police say a semi-trailer carrying compost was allegedly stolen from a BP Service Station in Murrurundi at about 7:30am. The truck was seen driving erratically south along the New England Highway through Muswellbrook towards Singleton.

Police didn't initiate a pursuit due to safety reasons and instead deployed road spikes a couple of kilometres outside of Singleton in a bid to stop the truck.

The truck continued onto George Street where it crashed into several cars and buildings, including The Royal Hotel, before being engulfed in flames and coming to a standstill.

"We've assessed a total of eight patients on scene. All adult patients," said Inspector Luke Wiseman from NSW Ambulance.

Image NSW Incident Alerts.

The patients include two who were airlifted to the John Hunter Hospital: a 67-year-old man who is fighting for life with head, chest and leg injuries and a 62-year-old woman with pelvic and hip injuries in a stable condition; a 64-year-old man was taken by road to the John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition with chest, neck and back pain; and another two patients were taken by road to Singleton District Hospital with minor injuries.

One of the men airlifted to hospital was trapped in his vehicle for a short time before being freed.

"This is a pretty significant incident what's occurred today, quite a confronting incident as you can imagine through the New England Highway of Singleton where you've got a truck which has run into multiple, multiple cars and also buildings," said Inspector Wiseman.



A critical incident investigation has been launched with a team from Port Stephens Local Area Command who will piece together what happened in the events leading up to the horror crash including the deployment of road spikes.

The alleged driver of the truck, a 29-year-old man, was arrested at the scene by police and remains in custody while he assists with investigations.

"The driving of the truck was reckless to say the least and criminal to say the worst," said Acting Commander Robert Post.

Acting Commander Post addressed the media this afternoon, but couldn't comment on the use of road spikes or the events leading up to the crash as it's forming a key part of the investigation.

"The plan is to try and disable the vehicle (using road spikes), I can't comment on whether the vehicle was disabled or not or what damage might have occurred and that will form a key part of the investigation. Obviously, you see the truck there behind us and it is quite damaged so I can't make any comment,"

"It was quite a daunting scene for our first responders. it took quite a while to get it under control. Many traffic diversions had to be put in place in quite a short period of time. Those diversions are going to remain for some hours, this scene will take several hours to unfold and unfortunately, it is going to affect the running of the township of singleton in terms of traffic flow."

There are reports of minor collisions and incidents along the way through Muswellbrook, so anyone with any information or who witnessed anything are being urged to come forward and contact police.

Home invasion in Weston overnight

BY JARROD MELMETH

Police are on the hunt for three men following a home invasion, where a shotgun was fired overnight at Weston. 

The men with their faces covered and reportedly armed with a machete and a shotgun forced open the front door of a home on Fourth Street, at around 10:30pm on Monday night.

The men confronted a 69-year-old male resident inside the home and demanded money before assaulting him. A 52-year-old woman in the home was also assaulted during the incident.

After leaving the premises with a small amount of cash, the men discharged the shotgun into the front door, narrowly missing the female resident.

The three men were last seen leaving the scene in a small silver or dark-coloured hatchback.
The man was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for a bruised eye and a swollen jaw and nose, while the woman received cuts and bruises to her face.

Both did not require hospitalisation and are seeking further medical treatment today.

Police from Central Hunter Local Area Command established a crime scene and have commenced investigations into the incident which is believed to be targeted.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Maitland Police or Crime Stoppers.

UPDATE: Pedestrian killed near Karuah earlier today

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

UPDATE:

Police are trying to piece together how a pedestrian was killed near Karuah earlier today.

Officers from Port Stephens Local Area Command were called to the northbound Tarean Road off ramp exit at Karuah following reports a pedestrian had been hit by a truck.

The truck driver was treated at the scene for shock, but sadly the male pedestrian in his 30s was killed.

EARLIER

Police were called to reports of a serious accident on the Pacific Highway at Karuah earlier this morning.

It's understood a pedestrian was hit by a truck at Tarean Road just before 6.30.

One of two southbound lanes on the highway is still closed.

The condition of the pedestrian is still not known.

Details to come.

Rescue Helicopter officially says hello to Belmont

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter's new home at Belmont was officially opened this morning by NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan.

The base is worth $5.5 million and enables the NSW Ambulance and Hunter New England Health medical team to deliver faster and go further across regional, rural and remote NSW communities.

The opening of the Belmont base is part of the $151.2 million state-wide Helicopter Retrieval Network which is the single biggest NSW Government investment in aeromedical services in the state's history.

"This is a $5.5 million base and that's not even counting the aircraft which is here to support it so when you look at it $2.2 million was directly out of Restart Hunter and it was a great leg up to the partnership and it's allowed us to deliver a great base to the community," said Commissioner Dominic Morgan.

It's one of the first new NSW Ambulance & Westpac Rescue Helicopters in the state funded in part by the NSW Government.

Helicopter Paramedic Adam Butt couldn't more happy to work at what is a world class base.

"The last base that we worked at Broadmeadow, it started off as a very small base and it grew and we just kind of tacked on little bits as we got more funding and this base is purposefully designed for our workflow from us getting the job, getting into the operations plan, getting into the aircraft, starting the aircraft and getting underway," he said.

It's been in the making for many years, and is sure to be in service for many to come.

"If you're a doctor or a nurse or a pilot or a crewman and you got to work from this base, you were thinking you were working in the best possible place in your career so many of the staff that have joined with us now as part of the partnership have come from other organisations and couldn't be happier with the aircraft they get to fly on," said Commissioner Dominic Morgan.