Independent lawmaker Helen Haines is in critical condition after a driver repeatedly rammed her in Wangaratta on Monday. Police charged a 43-year-old man.
Australian police charged a 43-year-old man on Tuesday after independent federal lawmaker Helen Haines was critically injured in what authorities described as a targeted vehicle attack in the regional city of Wangaratta on Monday afternoon.
The 65-year-old member of parliament was standing near the trunk of her parked car outside her office when a driver ran into her multiple times, CBS News reported. Haines underwent surgery at a hospital in Melbourne and remained in a critical but stable condition, with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporting that she lost one of her legs.
How the crash unfolded outside her office
Authorities said Haines was retrieving items from the back of her car on Wangaratta’s main street when the incident began. A driver passed her in a Toyota Land Cruiser before making a U-turn and steering directly toward her, according to Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
The vehicle rammed Haines, pinning her against her parked car, Burke told the Australian national broadcaster. The driver then put the vehicle into reverse and drove into her a second time.
Bystanders moved in immediately to stop the driver and protect the injured lawmaker. Ricky Jefferies, a local barber, said he pulled the suspect out of the vehicle and confiscated a weapon. “I just wasn’t comfortable with his movements so I took it out of his pocket and threw it away,” Jefferies said, according to BBC News.
Jefferies added that other people who intervened stepped directly in front of the running, rolling vehicle to assist. Victoria Police said a highway patrol unit was already in the immediate vicinity and arrived on the scene within eight seconds of the emergency call.
Charges filed and suspect identified
Police identified the arrested driver as Brendan Nugent, a 43-year-old resident from nearby Tarrawingee who local media described as an environmental activist. Nugent was taken into custody at the scene and charged on Tuesday with intentionally causing serious injury, dangerous driving causing serious injury, and causing harm to a federal official.
Investigators searched a property in Tarrawingee, roughly 12 kilometers or 7.5 miles outside Wangaratta. Victoria Police stated that the collision appeared to be an isolated incident with no known broader threats linked to the case, though officers planned to maintain a presence throughout Wangaratta.
Police did not outline a motive for the assault, though they characterized the collision as deliberate and targeted. Nugent’s father, Rod Nugent, and his partner Christine Cunningham issued a joint statement saying they had known Haines personally for more than two decades. His father described Haines as a deeply respected and loved member of the local community, called the incident devastating and unfathomable, and pledged full cooperation with the police investigation.
Community reaction and background
Haines was airlifted from the regional center to a Melbourne hospital following the attack. Medical staff performed emergency surgery, and broadcasters reported that doctors were also fighting to save her other leg.
The town of Wangaratta, a regional center of about 30,000 residents located roughly 250 kilometers northeast of Melbourne, opened a cathedral vigil on Tuesday where residents gathered to light candles. Flowers and messages accumulated along the pavement outside her office after the street reopened to traffic.
Wangaratta Mayor Irene Grant said residents felt shock and horror over the violence. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also praised the lawmaker. “Helen Haines is characterized by her kindness, her compassion, her diligence, her intelligence,” Albanese said, noting that she earned broad respect across parliamentary parties.
Haines first entered the Australian parliament as an independent representing the sprawling electorate of Indi in 2019. She retained the seat during the 2025 federal election with a margin exceeding 18,000 votes, focusing her legislative platform on rural health services, climate policy, support for small businesses, and political integrity.
What happens next
Nugent remains in police custody and is scheduled to appear before a magistrate in a Wangaratta court on Wednesday, where he may apply for bail.
