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Brumbies forward in medically induced coma in Durban hospital

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ACT Brumbies forward SHAWN MACKAY is in a medically induced coma in a Durban hospital following surgery after he was hit by a vehicle in the early hours of Sunday morning.

MACKAY has suffered spinal injuries and a broken leg as well as multiple facial fractures and lacerations after he was hit by an armoured response vehicle while crossing a road.

The accident occurred at about 4am in Durban when MACKAY and several other Brumbies players were returning to the team hotel following a night out after their Super 14 loss to the Sharks on Saturday night.

A Brumbies spokesman says police were investigating the incident but believes MACKAY was not "skylarking" at the time.

The 26-year-old suffered a cervical spinal fracture and dislocation in the accident.

It is believed his parents will depart for South Africa today to be with their son.

The Brumbies were set to go on safari today but have cancelled those plans and will stay in Durban.




That's terrible news... apparently he was hit by an emergency response armoured car that was going pretty fast...
 
It is awful news. If it turns out he did nothing wrong it will be even more terrible. He'll probably never play any sport again with that kind of spinal injury.

If on the other hand he was involved in some drunken clownish behaviour, it's still very sad news, but it may also serve as a lesson to the idiots from all of the franchises in NZ, AUS & SAF, who believe all night partying is the way forward for every single weekend. There's many who don't but heaps who do. Any time a major team has played in Invercargill you can find 6 or 7 big names in town drinking heavily.

A few years back, I once knocked Norm Maxwell from the Crusaders over at a pub. He's bigger than me, but was very drunk, so I'm not claiming anything big there. Todd Blackadder was within metres of the whole thing and actually came over and had a chat to me. I was really impressed, he just spoke to me about how hard it was keeping some of the players under control when he went into town with them and how he hardly bothered going because it was getting more difficult. That was 2002. It's much worse now.

By the way, I'm not saying that Mackay did anything wrong. It's just another terrible, late, late night incident.
 
It doesn't appear as if he'd been getting up to mischief... I think it was just a horrible accident...



Brumbies lock Shawn Mackay in intensive care after being hit by a car


Brumbies forward Shawn Mackay is in a medically induced coma in a Durban hospital following surgery after he was hit by a vehicle in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Mackay suffered spinal injuries and a broken leg as well as multiple facial fractures and lacerations after being hit by an armoured response vehicle while crossing a road.

The accident occurred at about 4am in Durban when Mackay and a number of other Brumbies players were returning to the team hotel following a night out after their Super 14 loss to the Sharks on Saturday night.

A Brumbies spokesman said police were investigating the incident but it is believed Mackay was not "skylarking" at the time.

Mackay, 26, suffered a cervical spinal fracture and dislocation in the accident.

He was in a critical but stable condition and was expected to remain in an induced coma as he undergoes further medical treatment.

Brumbies team doctor Warren McDonald, who was working with staff at Durban's St Augustine's Hospital, said Mackay was receiving around the clock intensive care and treatment.

"Shawn has sustained severe head and leg injuries but has received first-class medical treatment from the time of the accident," McDonald said.

"He is currently in a critical condition but is stable and we won't know the full extent of his injuries until he is brought out of a coma in two days time."

Brumbies management has been in contact with Mackay's family and partner and are arranging to fly them to Durban as soon as possible.

It is believed his parents will depart for South Africa on Monday to be with their son.

"We would request that people understand the sensitivity of the situation and ask that people please respect his and his family's privacy at this time," McDonald said.

Brumbies media spokesman Nick Smith said the players were obviously in shock.

The team was set to go on safari on Monday but have cancelled those plans and will stay in Durban.

Mackay, who came off the bench in the 35-14 loss to the Sharks, joined the Brumbies at the start of the season from the New South Wales Waratahs.

He has been a member of the Australian Sevens side since 2004 and also spent five years playing rugby league with the Sydney Roosters' junior side.

The Brumbies are scheduled to travel to Bloemfontein on Thursday ahead of this weekend's match with the Cheetahs.
 
Really sad news, I just hope he recovers and is able to walk again. Speaking from experience, It's going to be a very emotional, painful & long recovery period. So I really hope he gets better.
 
Yeah certainly seems like just a nasty accident. Was only mentioning the late night drinking culture thats becoming a problem, hope no-one thinks I'm implying that he was asking for it. :)

I hope somehow he has a miraculous full recovery over a year or so. :)
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (C A Iversen @ Mar 30 2009, 12:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
Yeah certainly seems like just a nasty accident. Was only mentioning the late night drinking culture thats becoming a problem, hope no-one thinks I'm implying that he was asking for it. :)

I hope somehow he has a miraculous full recovery over a year or so. :)[/b]
Click to expand...

Well I knew you weren't implying he deserved it. B)

Yeah Norm was a alcholic back then...
 
As my Dad would say after seeing people get run down by Fibreglass Land Rovers or "Pig" APCs, if you get hit by one of those armoured cars, its not going to end well.

Thoughts and prayers are with his family..
 
Out of any news you don't want to hear in any sport this is it. Feel so sorry for the bloke, the Brumbies team mates and his family. Not good at all.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (C A Iversen @ Mar 30 2009, 11:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
Yeah certainly seems like just a nasty accident. Was only mentioning the late night drinking culture thats becoming a problem, hope no-one thinks I'm implying that he was asking for it. :)

I hope somehow he has a miraculous full recovery over a year or so. :)[/b]
Click to expand...

Is this a reflection of the game or a reflection of society? My mate said he saw Leroy Houston and Poutasi from the Reds in the city at 2am after the Chiefs game.. how come we never here anything about rugby union from the media about this, while in rugby league its non stop about about the players getting on the ****. It seems to be a huge media beat up by the media. And I think rugby league benefits from this.

Why? Take promo boy Brett Stewart for example. The media hung him out to dry and the NRL banned him till round 5. I can guarentee the fans are coming out in numbers showing their support for the club and come round 5 will be pumped up for his return.. it happened to Cronulla lately and happened to the Bulldogs in 2004 after the rape allegations. Certain aspects of the media in Australia will write anything negative about rugby league but arent hoping to get something good out of it.

EDIT: Just as I posted that I read 2 NRL players stood down from their team for this weekends games for breaching the teams alcohol rules.
 
Brumbies lock Shawn Mackay may be paralysed after being hit by car

March 30, 2009
There are fears ACT Brumbies forward Shawn Mackay could be left paralysed after he was struck by a car in Durban at the weekend.

South African police say the driver of the car, that belonged to an armed response security company, may be charged with reckless and negligent driving.

Mackay, 26, suffered a cervical spinal fracture and dislocation as well as a broken leg and multiple facial fractures and lacerations.

The incident occurred about 4.15am Durban time on Sunday when Mackay and a number of other Brumbies were leaving a club, having wound down after their Super 14 loss to the Sharks on Saturday night.

He was in a critical but stable condition and was expected to remain in a medically induced coma for treatment following surgery on Sunday.

Sharks team doctor Craig Springate said there was some concern about the possibility of paralysis, but that it was too early to tell.

"He has suffered multiple injuries and fractures which can be classified as serious," Springate said.

"There is some concern about paralysis, but we will only know when he recovers from the anaesthetic. The spinal cord is intact but there is some swelling."

Derrick Banks, a spokesman with South Africa's national emergency medical care network, said when paramedics arrived on the scene, they found Mackay lying on the side on the road.

"He had suffered massive injuries and had to have advanced life support intervention," Banks said.

Brumbies team doctor Warren McDonald, who was working with staff at Durban's St Augustine's Hospital, said Mackay was receiving around the clock intensive care and treatment.

"He is currently in a critical condition but is stable and we won't know the full extent of his injuries until he is brought out of a coma in two days time," McDonald said.

Mackay was crossing a road to get to a team security van for the trip back to the hotel when he was hit by the car.

The driver is understood to have initially left the scene before returning 10 minutes later.

Brumbies media spokesman Nick Smith said the players were obviously in shock.

They were set to go on safari but cancelled those plans to stay in Durban.

Brumbies management arranged for Mackay's family and partner to fly to Durban and his parents departed for South Africa on Monday.

Mackay, who came off the bench in the 35-14 loss to the Sharks, joined the Brumbies at the start of the season from the NSW Waratahs.

He has been a member of the Australian Sevens side since 2004 and also spent five years playing rugby league with Sydney Roosters juniors.

Waratahs and Wallabies star Lote Tuqiri, who played sevens with Mackay, said all of his former NSW teammates had been rocked by the news.

"You just hope he's in good health, really, and just feel for him and his family and what they're going through," he said.

"We talked about it today and all our thoughts are with him and his family at the moment, and the Brumbies as well.

"He skippered our sevens team and was a part of this squad for the last few years, so he was really amongst the boys and just a really good teammate."

Waratahs coach Chris Hickey said Mackay's accident was a major downer for the entire Australian rugby fraternity.

"All the boys who play together for all the four (Super) teams know each other pretty well and it's not good news to hear this," he said.

"So we just hope that everything goes well for him in terms of his recovery."

The Brumbies are scheduled to travel to Bloemfontein on Thursday ahead of this weekend's match with the Cheetahs.
 
Also, big thumbs up for Jannie du Plessis...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>
It is understood that Sharks players Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis were at the nightclub at the time, and that Jannie, a doctor, was among the first to attend to Mackay. It is believed Jannie called the ambulance that took Mackay to Durban's St Augustine's Hospital. Mackay last night was in a critical but stable condition.[/b]
Click to expand...
 
Dead right, sounds like Jannie really did all the right things there. It's such terrible news when theres the chance of paralysis or worse.
 

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