Bill Shorten has been snapped comforting the victim of a vehicle crash, after his convoy was caught up in the mayhem of a head-on collision near Newcastle.
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Shorten’s motorcade was heading to Maitland when the accident occurred just before 1pm at Tester’s Hollow.
As their cars pulled over on the signal of an AFP officer standing at the side of the road on Thursday afternoon, a vehicle overtook the convoy and collided with an oncoming auto.
Police vehicles had their lights flashing as another auto overtook the convoy.
Mr Shorten comforted the occupants of the other auto involved in the crash, a 33-year-old woman her 2-year-old son, in the back of his official vehicle.
The Newcastle Herald reported Shorten’s auto left the scene just before 2pm, with other media reporting the woman and her child had been taken from the scene in his vehicle.
Mr Shorten was in the region to talk to Mr Pynsent and Labor candidate for Paterson Meryl Swanson, both of whom were in the entourage, about problems with the notoriously risky road.
A spokesman for Mr Shorten has confirmed he will not be attending any other events today and his focus was the occupants of both vehicles.
The two are sitting inside Mr Shorten’s auto and the child’s auto seat is being moved to his vehicle. This vehicle collided head-on with an approaching auto on the other side of the road.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area and visit www.livetraffic.com for more information, as the road is expected to be closed for some time.
A street walk planned in Maitland has been cancelled and Shorten has suspended campaigning for the rest of the day.
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Police have established a crime scene while they investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash. She reportedly suffered head injuries but is in a stable condition.
