A man has been charged with stealing a semi-trailer and causing ‘absolute carnage’ in the NSW Hunter town of Singleton.
Rodney Johnson, 29, was loaded into the back of a police van to be taken in for questioning after a mental health assessment at Singleton Hospital on Wednesday evening, 9News reports.
He allegedly stole the semi-trailer from a service station at Murrurundi – more than 100 kilometres away – about 7.30am on Wednesday when the driver was paying for fuel.
The rig crashed and burst into flames on George Street on Wednesday morning after taking out five cars and damaging buildings including the Royal Hotel and an antique store.
The driver who stole a fertiliser truck (pictured) and crashed into a number of cars and buildings before it burst into flames has been seen leaving hospital under police guard
The 29-year-old man left hospital with a white sheet covering his body before being loaded into the back of a police van
Police had initiated a pursuit and deployed road spikes as the truck approached Singleton.
The semi continued for a few kilometres after hitting the spikes before colliding with the cars and buildings about 8.45am.
One man is in critical condition and eight people were treated at the scene, including five who were taken to hospital, according to the Daily Telegraph.
A 67-year-old man suffered head and chest injuries and was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. He was in a critical but stable condition on Wednesday night.
A 62-year-old woman with pelvic and hip injuries and a 64-year-old man with neck, chest and back pain are both in a stable condition.
It comes after the truck driver, who is reportedly 29-years-old according to NBN News , stole a truck and erratically drove it through Singleton before the truck burst into flames
Debbie Anderson, 59, was on her way to work but was stuck in standstill traffic for at least ten minutes when she saw the semi-trailer (pictured) coming towards her
The driver was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital with minor injuries and underwent mandatory tests.
He faces eight charges, including stealing the truck, leading police on a pursuit and malicious damage.
Johnson has been refused bail to front Singleton Local Court on Thursday.
On Wednesday, one witness described her terror as she sat in traffic and saw the truck hurtling towards her at high speed.
‘[The truck] was ploughing [the cars] like it was ploughing a field,’ Debbie Anderson, 59, told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I’d been thrown sideways … all I could see was smoke.’
The truck was seen driving erratically through the main street as it hit a number of buildings
At about 7.30am on Wednesday, the stolen truck crashed into a number of cars and buildings before catching fire in Singleton, north of Sydney.
‘It was like something that you’d see on the movies,’ Ms Anderson said.
‘I don’t even know how fast he was travelling, he was absolutely flying.
‘I was in complete disbelief.’
After the ‘wavering’ truck crashed into her car, along with several others, the 59-year-old said she forced the car door open and went to safety at a nearby cafe.
‘I could see dust and didn’t know if it was smoke,’ Ms Anderson said.
‘Obviously you could see the flames and the popping.’
Ms Anderson said the stolen truck crashed into a car which crashed into her car, throwing her sideways and all she could see ‘was smoke’ (pictured)
The horrific incident took place in Singleton, about 200km north of Sydney, NSW (pictured)
Escaping with bruises to her forearms and legs after the ‘full on jolt’, Ms Anderson said the truck ended up about 100 metres away from her car before it burst into flames.
The grandmother described the cars in standstill traffic as ‘sitting ducks’ with no where to escape.
‘There’s only one way in and one way out over that bridge,’ Ms Anderson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘If they knew what was coming why didn’t they sit us in the side streets.’
The grandmother was taken to hospital for X-rays and has since been discharged, making her feel pretty lucky she wasn’t worse off.
Ms Anderson was one of at least eight injured in the terrifying crash, which has left two people in a critical condition in hospital.
Other witnesses described seeing the semi-trailer travelling at 100km/h down the main street of the country town before ploughing into four cars and bursting with thick black smoke.
The semi-trailer crashed into a number of cars (pictured) and buildings Wednesday morning
Meri Basci told Daily Mail Australia she was on her way to work when she saw the truck being driven ‘erratically’ over the bridge before it crashed and burst into flames.
‘I saw a lot of dust under his wheels … it all happened so fast,’ Ms Basci said.
‘I couldn’t even understand how he could drive that fast over the bridge without hitting anyone or anything.
‘A second later all I could hear was a big bang and a lot of black smoke.’
Another witness, Daniel Storey, told Australian Associated Press that he heard ‘crash after crash after crash’.
The truck exploded into ‘fireball’ flames (pictured) after police stopped truck with road spikes
Ms Anderson was one of at least eight injured in the terrifying crash, which has left two people in a critical condition in hospital
‘Some cars have been taken out by the truck,’ Mr Storey said.
‘He’s caused it all. When he crashed, he got out of his truck and tried to get into another truck.’
NSW Ambulance Inspector Luke Wiseman said it was ‘chaotic’ when they first arrived before 9am with a number of ‘distressed people’.
‘The scale and suddenness of the incident and the fact that is has happened in a smaller community means a lot of people are in shock, so it was a challenging scene,’ Mr Wiseman said.
Huge blankets of black smoke could be seen and one witness reportedly said there was a ‘huge fireball’ with cars ‘all over the road’.
A critical investigation has been launched following the incident.
Other eye-witnesses have described seeing the stolen semi-trailer travelling at 100km/h
The driver of the stolen truck was arrested at the horrific scene by police (pictured)
Two people are in a critical condition, a 67-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman
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