Car sideswiped before Redbank Plains brawl that put four in hospital

A man has been charged after a bloody street brawl left four people in hospital and a man ‘bleeding out’ in his own front yard at Redbank Plains, west of Brisbane.

A bloody street brawl that left four people in hospital and a man “bleeding out” in his own front yard was sparked after a driver sideswiped a neighbour’s car, police will allege.

Nine ambulances were called to treat multiple patients after a neighbourhood dispute escalated into a mass brawl on a Redbank Plains street about 8.30pm on Friday night.

Resident Carol Whitfield, 60, said she was at home with her husband Ricky Fennell, 60, and adult son when they heard some loud knocking on the door of their Wright Ave house.

“Before we knew what had happened I had four big fellas just barging into the house and my husband just freaked,” Mrs Whitfield said.

Carol Whitfield speaks about the incident that left four people in hospital, including her husband. Picture: Annette Dew

The group of men explained that a driver, who they had seen parked outside the family’s house, had sideswiped one of their cars and had driven off.

Mrs Whitfield said the driver was a friend of another man who lived in their house and they had called him and asked that he return to “sort it out”.

“When he came back and pulled into the driveway there were about 10 big guys … so he felt intimidated I’m sure,” she said.

“As soon as they congregated around his car, he (the driver) jumped up on his bonnet and then they grabbed him by the legs and had him down on the ground.”

Mrs Whitfield said nobody realised the driver had a knife until her husband, who had recently undergone surgery for cancer, was stabbed while trying to help break up the dispute.

“The next thing I hear is my son screaming “you’ve just stabbed my dad,” Mrs Whitfield said.

“My son had to hold his arm together because you could see right through to the bones and then the police turned up.

“We just panicked because my husband was just bleeding out. Even the police said they couldn’t believe the amount of blood from just one person.”

A damaged car on the street where several people were injured in a wild brawl at Redbank Plains. Picture: Annette Dew

Mr Fennell was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition and was expected to undergo surgery for the wound on Saturday.

Two other men, aged 24 and 29, and a 22-year-old woman were taken to hospital in stable conditions.

The 29-year-old Redbank Plains driver was arrested at the scene and was later charged with four counts of acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was denied police bail and is due to appear in Ipswich Magistrates Court on Monday.

Police said he was also given a traffic infringement notice for failing to fulfil duties after being a driver involved in a crash.

Mrs Whitfield described the fight as an unfortunate incident that had escalated quickly and could have been avoided.

“In hindsight, it’s a bit late now, but we should have said, ‘we know him, he’ll be back here, can we sort it in the morning when everyone is not so hot-headed’,” she said.

Queensland Police said investigations into the fight were continuing and appealed for anyone with dashcam footage or CCTV to come forward.