An Australian man’s backflip stunt to celebrate his new apartment on the Gold Coast proved fatal after he suffered a head injury.
Sonny Blundell, 18, died on Monday (30 June), six days after battling a brain injury in a Queensland hospital.
He had moved from Central Coast, New South Wales, to Queensland for a concreting job and to start a new life with his girlfriend, his sister Izabella Cromack-Hay told Australian news outlets.
However, on 24 June, while celebrating his move with friends, Blundell attempted a backflip in the lounge room of his apartment but hit his head on the floor.
Although he initially appeared to recover and went to bed with a headache, he later woke up vomiting, went to the bathroom and collapsed. His best friend found him unresponsive the next morning, The Daily Telegraph reported.
“Moving to Queensland only a month ago, which was his greatest accomplishment, he worked the hardest concreting and making himself known,” Ms Cromack-Hay told the outlet.
Blundell was rushed to the hospital and placed in a coma in the intensive care unit.
He underwent brain surgery and “battled multiple strokes” and a brain bleed, but died from his injuries six days later, on 30 June, his sister wrote on his GoFundMe page.
“The first 24 hours were the most critical. We nearly lost him after he had multiple strokes and another bleed, which led to him needing a drain in his brain,” it said.
She described her brother as a hardworking and loving young man who had been excited about his fresh start in Queensland.
“Moving to Queensland only a month ago, which was his greatest accomplishment, he worked the hardest concreting and making himself known,” his sister said.
Madeline Blundell, her mother, paid tribute to her son in a Facebook post.
“My beautiful baby grew his bigger wings today and passed and is in heaven,” she wrote.
“Sonny died peacefully and is in a beautiful place. My heart is broken and my best friend in the world is gone. I love you my boy.”
