Australian independent lawmaker Helen Haines loses both legs after being struck by car in Wangaratta
Australian federal independent lawmaker Helen Haines, 65, has had both legs amputated after being struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV in her hometown of Wangaratta on Monday. Her husband, Phil Haines, confirmed on Wednesday that her left leg was removed Monday and her right leg on Wednesday after doctors abandoned hope of saving it. A 43-year-old man, Brendan Nugent, has been charged in connection with the incident and will remain in custody until a February court appearance.
Single source · Not corroborated
Doctors at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne amputated both of Helen Haines' legs following an incident on Monday in which witnesses said a driver rammed her, pinning her against her own car, then reversed and rammed her a second time. Phil Haines, speaking to reporters outside the hospital on Wednesday, said his wife remains in stable condition. "The good news in all this is that Helen is alive and she's stable. That is the most important thing for our family," he said, adding that both "her heart and her mind are in good shape."
Brendan Nugent, 43, of nearby Tarrawingee, appeared in Wangaratta Magistrates' Court on Wednesday charged with intentionally causing serious injury, dangerous driving causing serious injury, and causing harm to a federal official. He did not enter a plea or apply for bail. His lawyer, Chirag Patel, told Magistrate Allison Vaughan that Nugent was suffering from potential mental health issues, though he had never been formally diagnosed, and also had a neurological condition called idiopathic transverse myelitis — a rare condition that damages the spinal cord's protective myelin sheath and disrupts nerve signals. Police said they have not yet determined a motive and that Nugent was not a previously known threat.
The incident has prompted a broader national conversation about the security of Australian politicians, who by international standards operate with unusually little personal protection. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Kissy Barrett said the force received 1,067 reports of threatening or harassing communications against high officeholders in the last fiscal year — a 12% increase on the prior year — and that nearly one suspect per week was charged over such threats.