American student in Fremantle, Perth, victim of rock attack

An American student studying teaching in Australia has been left with shocking facial injuries after he was hit in the head with a rock thrown by thieves on a scooter.

York Danielson, 32, from Seattle, is living in Fremantle in Perth’s south and was targeted by ‘two guys dressed all in black’ who tried to snatch his backpack as he rode home on Sunday. 

Mr Danielson managed to ‘outride’ them on his bike during a tense three-block chase but when he stopped to alert a neighbour, thinking he had lost them, the pair zoomed past and pelted him with the heavy limestone block.

After 48 hours in hospital, Mr Danielson was released on Tuesday but is in for a lengthy recovery with pictures of his swollen face showing the extent of his injuries.

‘I’m feeling pretty rough to be honest. They can’t do surgery until the swelling goes down,’ Mr Danielson told Daily Mail Australia. 

‘I’ve got a ton of broken bones in my face and broken teeth.’

He suffered facial fractures and broken teeth and is in for a series of surgeries

The limestone block hit him ‘square in the face’ and caused him to black out and spend 48 hours in hospital

He is booked in for his first follow up facial and dental surgeries next week.

Despite the considerable blow to his face, he still remembers exactly what happened. 

‘It was insane… I stopped to talk to a neighbor about being chased,’ Mr Danielson said.

‘Before I could hardly get a word out they (the thieves) flew by on the scooter and threw a brick at my head!

‘Fortunately my neighbor was there to help me out, or I might not have survived.’

He blacked out after the rock hit him square in the face and has been vomiting as a side effect from his concussion.

Not only does he now have to focus on his rehabilitation but also how he will stay afloat financially. 

‘Because I’m a foreign student, I don’t have access to Medicare and only have insurance which pay for just a tiny bit,’ he said.

A GoFundMe as been setup to help with medical bills. 

The Seattle native is in Fremantle in Perth studying to be a teacher

He said despite the incident he still loves the city but is worried about the cost of medical bills 

Despite the ordeal he remains in high spirits and insists he will have a great story to tell his students.

‘I’m trying to be positive and smile through it,’ Mr Danielson said.

‘Hopefully I can get back to teaching as soon as I can… I still love this city.

Detectives are now investigating the sickening attack.

‘They (police) gone over the scene with a fine tooth comb apparently.’

‘But they are still at large, they were dressed all in black on an unregistered moped, which is why they’re having trouble finding them.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police.