A huge brawl erupted between two groups of aboriginals on an Adelaide bus on New Year’s Day, with rocks thrown from inside and one woman requiring hospital treatment.
South Australia Police arrested 19 passengers aged between 13 and 58 after the fight spilled onto the street at Thebarton and bus driver Gurwinder Singh called for help.
The brawl which involved men, women and children and left the bus with smashed windows, took place just before 9am on Wednesday, 7 News reported.
The driver said two large groups boarded the bus in the city and were travelling to Westlakes when they began shouting at each other and the argument turned violent.
“Look I can’t really see much but the situation is very serious here,” Mr Singh said in a distress call before fleeing the bus with other passengers who were not involved in the brawl.
“They were like throwing stones and I was like scared,” he said.
Three passengers were treated by paramedics, including one woman who was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Clumps of hair were pulled out during the brawl and collected by police at the scene.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Yvette Clark said no innocent bystanders were hurt, and all parties involved in the fight knew each other.
“Police wish to reassure the community that the people involved were known to each other and this was not a random incident,” police said in a statement.
The 19 arrested passengers were all charged with aggravated affray and property damage, and have been banned from public transport for a minimum of three months.
All were released on police bail by mid-morning, and will appear in court at a later date.
The arrests include:
- a 22-year-old man from the State’s Far North
- a 39-year-old woman from Greenwith
- a 21-year-old woman from Ridleyton
- A 17-year-old boy from the State’s Far North
- a 31-year-old woman from Seaton
- a 13-year-old girl from Seaton
- a 29-year-old man from Seaton
- a 20-year-old man from Seaton
- a 58-year-old man from the State’s Far North
- a 19-year-old man from Seaton
- A 24-year-old woman from Ridleyton
- a 45-year-old woman from the State’s Far North
- a 19-year-old man from Seaton
- a 17-year-old girl from Greenwith
- a 26-year-old man from the Northern Territory
- a 28-year-old woman from Croydon Park
- a 22-year-old woman from Seaton
- a 22-year-old man from Marion
- a 25-year-old woman from Greenwith
Header image credit: 7 News
