Adelaide legend Tony Modra has woken from surgery after a catastrophic truck crash last Thursday night, with fears of concussion or brain injury quickly dismissed. Mark Ricciuto says Modra is out of intensive care, though he faces further surgery after severe
Tony Modra’s loved ones didn’t just get another update after a terrifying truck crash — they got the kind of news that flips fear into something closer to relief.
One of Modra’s closest mates. former Adelaide Crows teammate Mark Ricciuto. revealed that the 57-year-old did not suffer a concussion or brain injury in the accident that almost killed him last Thursday night. Modra. Ricciuto said. woke up in hospital after it had initially been feared he could have died when a tree branch smashed through the windscreen of his truck.
“It’s been a positive weekend, it’s definitely fair to say,” Ricciuto told Adelaide’s Triple M Breakfast With Roo, Ditz and Loz show on Monday morning. “He had a really long day on Friday, getting operations on his jaw, cheekbone and eye socket.”
Ricciuto said he received a message during a football match on Saturday. It was from Erica Modra, Modra’s wife — telling him they had woken Tony up.
“But he was in a lot of pain. as you can imagine. after having all those operations the day before. ” Ricciuto said. “He remembered everything that happened, if you can believe that. So no concussion. no brain injury. which is a huge positive… so great news he’s got no brain issues. [but it’s] a little bit tough emotionally to get through reliving what happened.”.
The shift from the darkest scenario to a clearer medical picture is the heart of what Ricciuto called a miracle. He added that Modra is now out of the intensive care ward, but will go under the knife again on Monday.
“It’s a miracle not only that he’s alive, but that he is at the point he is at right now,” Ricciuto said.
Modra was injured in the freak accident near his sheep and cattle farm about 90km south of Adelaide. He was rushed to Flinders Medical Centre after the crash at Back Valley on the Fleurieu Peninsula, and the incident placed him in critical condition.
His wife Erica said she was on the phone to Modra when the crash occurred. She also revealed that their 14-year-old son Luke made the difference immediately after the impact.
Luke called triple-0 and used the Find My Phone app to pinpoint his father’s location and relay it to emergency services, helping get help to where it was needed.
Erica said Modra was able to pull over after the impact to avoid anyone else being caught up in the chaos. She even joked about what the crash would do to his looks once he made it out of the woods.
“Erica said to me just before, ‘He’s not going to be the same good-looking Tony Modra, he’s going to have some scars,’” Ricciuto revealed on Saturday afternoon. “I said, ‘Well, he can be like us for once instead of being good looking as he always has been.’”
Ricciuto also detailed the nature of the injuries and the surgery Modra has already undergone. It is understood that Modra’s surgery involved complex procedures to repair the effects of the crash on his jaw, eye socket and cheek.
While Modra continues his recovery, there was public acknowledgment of his situation from across the footy world. Footy fans paid their respects by applauding at the six-minute mark of the Adelaide Crows’ win over the Demons at Adelaide Oval.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks said after the match that positive messages were coming in, but cautioned that nobody should get ahead of themselves.
“We’re hearing positive thoughts, there’s a lot of positive news coming back,” Nicks said after his side won by 17 points. “But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”
For a player renowned for spectacle on the biggest stages, the contrast is stark. Modra is remembered as one of the most spectacular players in AFL history. kicking 588 goals while playing for the Crows and Dockers between 1992 and 2001. Now. after last Thursday night’s crash. the immediate concern has shifted — from whether he would come through at all. to how he will heal from the severe facial injuries and recover his strength after further surgery.
Tony Modra Mark Ricciuto Adelaide Crows truck crash Flinders Medical Centre triple-0 Find My Phone Luke Modra facial injuries AFL
Glad he woke up… scary stuff.
Concussion ruled out is such a relief. But the jaw/cheekbone/eye socket surgeries?? poor guy. Also wild that a tree branch went through the windscreen.
Wait so he didn’t have a concussion but he was still having “further surgery” right? I feel like that means something still affected his brain? Or maybe they just didn’t test it fully yet. Either way, praying, I guess.
“Miracle” is the word but honestly truck crashes are always a mess, like how was he driving with a branch through the windshield?? I don’t get how you can remember everything and still call it a near-death situation. Glad he’s out of ICU though. Hope he doesn’t have any long term issues with that eye stuff, that would freak me out.