Helen Haines is fighting for her life in a Victorian hospital after a Toyota LandCruiser struck her in Wangaratta on Monday. The 65-year-old member of parliament was loading or unloading items from her car’s boot when the vehicle hit her, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. She underwent surgery overnight and remains in critical condition.
Local barber Ricky Jefferies, whose shop sits next to Haines’ electorate office, heard a “loud bang” while cutting a child’s hair. He rushed out to find the 43-year-old driver at the scene. Jefferies pulled the man out of the vehicle and removed a knife from his pocket before restraining him until police arrived. “I just wasn't comfortable with his movements,” Jefferies told reporters. He threw the weapon away and held the man down until officers took over.
Albanese called Jefferies a hero during a Tuesday interview with Nine Network, praising the “element of light” in a “dark and terrible time.” The Prime Minister noted that preliminary evidence suggests the driver made a U-turn before the impact. Counterterrorism agencies are now investigating alongside police, a move that has shocked the country given Australia’s historically low incidence of political violence against lawmakers.
Haines, a former midwife well-respected in the community, was described by Jefferies as a “genuine, kind person.” Police have not yet disclosed a motive for the attack. Investigators will determine if the incident was targeted political violence or a random act of aggression in the coming days.