AFL Legend Tony Modra Found Badly Injured After Hor-ror Crash — 78-Year-Old Witness Reveals the Heartbreaking Words She Kept Repeating
IT WAS A TERRIFYING MOMENT..! – Great-grandmother Linda Cameron has revealed how she held AFL legend Tony Modra’s hand and begged him to “squeeze, squeeze” after finding him badly injured following his horrific crash.
The 78-year-old grandmother who found a badly bleeding Tony Modra moments after his crash held the footy legend’s hand, begging him to “squeeze, squeeze” while waiting for help.
One of the Crows’ greatest ever players has been seriously injured in a cattle truck crash sparking an outpouring of concern from political and sporting figures.
Adelaide Crows legend Tony Modra was found bleeding from the head, dazed and wandering the road in front of his cattle truck immediately after his crash, the first person the scene says.
Great-grandmother Linda Cameron, who had been overtaken by Modra’s truck minutes before the crash, said when she drove past she found a harrowing scene where a massive tree branch had smashed the truck’s windscreen and was lying on the road. It was then that she pulled over.
It was then the 78-year-old pulled over, ran over to him and wound up sitting beside the badly bleeding footy hero, holding his hand on the ground.
The long-time resident had allowed Mr Modra’s cattle truck to overtake her, as Ms Cameron chose to drive extra slow on the damp roads.
But within a few minutes, she drove into a catastrophic scene, where she saw the truck on the other side of the road with a shattered windshield.
First on scene Linda Cameron who lives near the site where Tony Modra’s cattle truck was pierced by a tree branch seriously injuring the footballing legend. Picture: Mark Brake
“I first saw the huge branch on the road and knowing there was no one behind me, I veered right away from it, and that’s when I came across the truck,” she said.
“I pulled right over, just left the lights on and ran down. That’s when I saw a man.”
Ms Cameron, who didn’t initially recognise the man as the footy icon, said she was deeply concerned for his wellbeing.
She said Mr Modra was “holding his face” while “blood was coming through his hand”. He was also “disorientated” and in a state of “absolute shock”.
The pair ended up sitting on the ground together, holding hands.
Ms Cameron repeatedly ran to and from her car to fetch a wad of tissues for his head wound and a blanket to keep him warm.
Ms Cameron insists she is no hero, doing what anybody would have done. Picture: Mark Brake
“(Modra’s grip) kept loosening,” she said. “And that made me scared.
“So I said: ‘Hold my hand tight. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Helps coming, they’ll be here any minute’.
“I felt so bad for him.
“He was just a man, who was in trouble, and he was bleeding really badly.”
Ms Cameron said she believed she heard his wife’s voice via the Bluetooth system in the cattle truck.
“She was obviously very distraught,” she said. “And she probably didn’t fully understand what was going on.”
Eventually, emergency services arrived and “sprang into action”, according to Ms Cameron, who stayed back as they took over.
Despite her compassionate actions on Friday evening, Ms Cameron does not consider herself a hero, maintaining that anyone would have stopped to help.
Ms Cameron has sent her best wishes to Mr Modra and his family as he recovers.
