Australian lawmaker loses leg after being rammed twice in vehicle attack

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE — Doctors have amputated the leg of an Australian lawmaker after a man rammed her with his car and then reversed to hit her a second time, media and officials said on Tuesday, in an incident being investigated by anti-terrorism police.Helen ‌Haines, an independent, underwent surgery overnight and remained in critical condition after Monday’s attack in the small rural town of Wangaratta, north of Melbourne.Australian media, citing unidentified sources, said Haines had lost one leg as a result of her injuries and doctors were working to save the other.“At this stage it appears this is an isolated incident, and there are currently no other known threats connected to this matter,” police in the southeastern state of Victoria said in a statement.While the motive for the attack has yet to be revealed, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese linked it to a domestic climate of ugly, polarized political debate.“It’s clear that there was a deliberate act here.This wasn’t an accident, someone just skidding off the road,” Albanese told ABC News.Initial investigations suggested the car hit Haines as she was loading or unloading items from the trunk of her car, he said.The 43-year-old alleged attacker was arrested at the scene and charged on Tuesday with the offenses of dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and causing harm to a public official.Police, who are investigating the incident along with counter-terror authorities and the domestic intelligence agency, said in a statement they would allege the attack was targeted.STRUCK TWO TIMESHome Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio that witnesses said the alleged attacker reversed the vehicle and struck Haines a second time before a bystander intervened.Ricky Jefferies ran from his barber shop, restraining the attacker and removing a knife from him after initially believing the incident was a car accident, Australian media reported.“I heard a loud bang wit...