- A 12-year-old boy has ridden his bicycle home after fracturing his spine
- The boy jumped into a quarry in Mount Eliza, south-east of Melbourne
- It wasn’t until hours afterwards that his parents discovered his serious injuries
A 12-year-old boy has ridden his bicycle home after fracturing eight vertebrae in a cliff-jumping accident.
The boy injured his back after a 20-metre jump into the Moorooduc quarry in Mount Eliza, south-east of Melbourne on Thursday.
The boy’s mother, Manon, told 3AW the boy was swimming at the quarry with three of his friends accompanied by his father when he broke his back.
A 12-year-old boy has ridden his bicycle home after fracturing eight vertebrae in his spine in a cliff-jumping accident
‘My parting words were “don’t jump off anything high”, but unfortunately he didn’t listen,’ she said.
Manon said her son followed another group who were at the top of the cliff preparing to jump.
‘He jumped from a height of 20 metres, and if you land badly it’s like hitting concrete, the doctors said.
‘His back hit the water first… and although he was badly winded and in a lot of pain, he actually jumped on his bike and cycled home.’
It wasn’t until hours later when his parents realised the boy was in serious pain, and he was taken to hospital.
They discovered he had fractured eight vertebrae in his back.
The boy injured his back after a 20-metre jump into the Moorooduc quarry in Mount Eliza, south-west of Melbourne on Thursday
‘He had a really lucky escape, no spinal cord damage. He’s one lucky boy.’
The boy was taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Manon said doctors have told her her son will make a full recovery.
She posted a photo of her son on Facebook to warn others of the dangers of jumping into water.