ZCZC
BSP-06
AFL-AUS-SUDAN-DAW
Serious injuries for trailblazing AFL star after bridge fall
MELBOURNE, Dec 19, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A trailblazing Australian Rules star who was the first Sudanese to play the game was stable in hospital Wednesday after a mystery fall from a bridge in Melbourne.
Majak Daw sustained “very serious injuries” to his hips and pelvis and will undergo surgery in the next few days, his club North Melbourne said.
“Our primary concern, of course, is his mental and physical health and wellbeing, and also the wellbeing of his family, friends, teammates, coaches and the staff at the club,” said North Melbourne.
Daw, who fled to Australia with his family from civil war-torn Sudan in 2003, has been one of the feel-good stories in Australian sport in recent years.
He broke through in 2013, thrilling fans with his athleticism, and had a stellar 2018, playing a career-high 18 games.
Daw has also been a key multicultural ambassador for the league, which is Australia’s biggest spectator sport — similar to Gaelic football but played with an oval ball.
Police only said that they responded to calls that a man “had fallen from the Bolte Bridge” into the Yarra River late Monday with the circumstances around what happened unclear.
But The Australian newspaper reported on “a self-destructive sequence of events” leading to the incident.
It claimed he had argued with his girlfriend then took a dose of the sleeping medication Stilnox, along with another sedative, before getting in his car and driving to the bridge.
He was found in the water 25 metres (82 feet) below the bridge. The newspaper said he had struggled with mental health issues in recent times.
BSS/AFP/AU/09:40 hrs