Tony Modra woke up from facial surgery but remains in a serious but stable condition after a devastating car crash.
The Adelaide icon suffered serious facial injuries after a fallen tree branch smashed through the windshield of the truck he was driving on Thursday evening.
He had surgery on Friday and had regained consciousness by Saturday afternoon – much to relief of his family and Crows supporters.
Crucially after being struck by the branch, Erica said Tony was able to pull the truck over to avoid anyone else being caught up in the crash.
But it was his 14-year-old son Luke had also played a crucial role in keeping his father alive in the intervening moments after the crash.
Tony’s wife Erica Modra revealed that their son called the emergency services and used the Find My iPhone app to help locate his father.
Tony Modra was involved in a devastating car crash when a fallen branch smashed through his windshield
Modra’s wife Erica told how their son Luke’s quick thinking using the Find my iPhone app helped locate his father
Guy Sebastian has also paid tribue to the stricken Modra after the crash
After hearing of the news Aussie music star Guy Sebastian paid tribue to the Adelaide Crow icon, saying, ‘ I’ll never forget the slowdown when I just sat there, I was in forward pocket and I watched you just sail past me thinking ‘that guy is a warrior.
‘That warrior’s spirit, I’m sure is coming in very handy now, everyone loves you mate, you’re a legend, get well.’
‘He’s one of the best footballers to play the game, but he’s just incredible energy – he’s got this aura about him, always smiling … So we look forward to him recovering and getting him back.’
And after waking up, his good friend Mak Ricciuto, said, ‘He’s awake with his wife Erica and his kids.’
‘They just want to say thank you for all the well-wishes.
‘He’s showing the grit everyone expected from Tony.
‘The great news is there is growing optimism that he is going to recover, and recover well.’
‘That warrior’s spirit, I’m sure is coming in very handy now, everyone loves you mate, you’re a legend, get well.’
Erica Modra joked about the effect of the accident on her husband’s looks once he had made it out of the woods.
‘Erica said to me just before, ‘He’s not going to be the same good-looking Tony Modra, he’s going to have some scars,” Ricciuto revealed.
‘I said, ‘Well, he can be like us for once instead of being good looking as he always has been.”
It is understood that the 57-year-old’s surgery involved complex procedures to repair the effects of the crash on his jaw, eye socket and cheek.
He was rushed into intensive care at Flinders Medical Centre after the crash at Back Valley on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
It is understood a tree or branch crashed onto Modra’s cattle truck as he drove home to his farm near Waitpinga, about 10km west of Victor Harbor in South Australia, during strong winds.
Footy fans paid tribute to Modra – who wore the No.6 guernsey for the Crows – by applauding at the six-minute mark of the team’s win over the Demons at Adelaide Oval.
‘We’re hearing positive thoughts, there’s a lot of positive news coming back,’ Adelaide Crows coach Matthew Nicks said after his side won by 17 points.
‘But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.
