MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A man tried to revive former Australia cricketer Andrew Symonds after he crashed his car in Queensland over the weekend, Australian media reported on Monday.
The all-rounder and twice World Cup winner died at 46 following the single-car accident late on Saturday near the northern city of Townsville in Queensland state.
Local resident Waylon Townson told the Nine Network that he had heard the crash and was first at the scene.
“He was stuck in there, so I tried to pull him out,” he told Nine.
“(I) started doing CPR and checked his pulse but I didn’t get much response from him.”
Emergency services also tried to revive Symonds, the sole occupant of the car, but he died of his injuries, police said in a statement on Sunday.
It was unclear why Symonds’ four wheel drive vehicle veered off the road before rolling down an embankment.
Symonds’ death occurred with Australian cricket still coming to terms with the passing of all-time greats Rod Marsh and Shane Warne, who both died in March.
A swashbuckling batsman and brilliant fielder, Symonds played 238 internationals, including 26 tests, for Australia between 1998-2009.
His death triggered tributes from around the cricketing world, with former players remembering him as a rare talent and a maverick renowned for butting heads with team management over discipline issues.
“Roy (Symonds) was never perfect, that was for sure, and he never admitted that he was,” former Australia coach John Buchanan told ABC radio on Monday.
“But the one thing about Roy – and one of the things that I think endeared him to most people – was that even though he made a mistake, he would openly admit that and try to rectify that and take full accountability for that.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
