M1 bashing victim Brock Prime: family devastated as attack comes five weeks after losing father
A THIRD man has been charged after Brock Prime was attacked in the middle of the M1 on Saturday night. Mr Prime moved in with his mother five weeks ago and was working 10-hour days so the family wouldn’t lose their home after the sudden death of his father.
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UPDATE: Police have formally charged a third alleged attacker, a 28-year-old Upper Coomera man, with one count of grievous bodily harm in relation to Saturday’s the road rage attack on the M1 at Yatala.
EARLIER: TWO men accused of an alleged road rage assault that left 29-year-old Brock Prime in a critical condition at Yatala on Saturday night have faced court.
Jonathan Lawrence, 26, and Jordan Baklas, 27, were charged with grievous bodily harm after they handed themselves into the Beenleigh Police Station.
Both were mentioned in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court today, but neither appeared in person and neither applied for bail.
Duty lawyers appeared on behalf of the accused, who will both remain in custody and reappear in court tomorrow with their own legal representation.
It comes as the Bulletin revealed Mr Prime moved in with his mother five weeks ago and was working 10-hour days so the family wouldn’t lose their home after the sudden death of his father.
Today, the 29-year-old is fighting for his own life after he was bashed and left for dead on the side of the M1.
Police will allege he was bashed with a metal bar — believed to be a tyre iron or crowbar — by about 13 people who were travelling in a white van at Yatala about 9.30pm.
Mr Prime’s black Subaru almost collided with the van about 14km earlier at Coomera and police said the vehicles played cat and mouse, swerving in and out of traffic.
Mr Prime, who had a passenger in his car, either pulled over or was forced off the road by the van.
After being knocked to the ground, police will allege Mr Prime continued to be attacked until the men got back in the van and fled, leaving Mr Prime unconscious on the side of the road.
His friend got away largely unscathed and was interviewed by police on Saturday night.
Mr Prime suffered a badly broken leg and serious fractures to his skull. Police believe it was a random attack.
Overnight, police arrested and charged two men with one count each of grievous bodily harm.
The 26-year-old Surfers Paradise man and 27-year-old Ormeau man are expected to appear in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court this morning.
“His left side will be like a stroke victim,” Mr Prime’s mother, Donna, told the Bulletin through tears yesterday.
“Because he’s already had to take a quarter of his brain, five centimetres of his skull was crushed into his brain with dirt and concrete and stuff so they had to remove all that and clean it out so they know it’s already damaged.
“That’s why they know his left side will be done.”
Ms Prime said her 29-year-old son, who was in intensive care at Gold Coast University Hospital last night, became the family major bread winner last month, working six days a week as a concreter, following the death of her husband, Darren.
“Brock’s been our rock,” the mother of three said. “He’s been working six days a week so we wouldn’t lose our house because we’ve got younger kids who’re still at school and uni.”
She said the incident had devastated Brock’s two younger siblings, Jonty and Daisy.
“Daisy has been so staunch since her dad died and then this morning she just broke. She said mum ‘I just can’t, not him too’.
He will undergo surgery today to repair a compound fracture to his leg. Ms Prime said the fight was on to get Brock out of a coma.
“It’s pretty bad, he’s on life support,” she said.
“The quicker they can get him out of the coma, which depends on where there’s infection and swelling and all those sorts of things, the more chance he has.
“The coma will be anywhere from four days to three weeks — the longer he stays in a coma the less his recovery will be.”
“I’m pretty overwhelmed. I can’t believe anyone would do this,” Ms Prime said.
“Our family is asking for anybody who has information about the incident to come forward to give us some answers and justice for this cowardly act.”
Ms Prime said she was thankful to the people who helped her son after the attack.
“I’ve met the most beautiful people who rang the ambulance and saw the whole thing.
“I hope he’ll pull through it. That’s what I keep telling myself. We need the little bugger ... we all do.”
Brock’s uncle Marty said the attack appeared to be at random.
“It’s just a random attack. People can say road rage or things like that but clearly you’re not going to do anything to provoke a mini-van full of 13 people.”
Mr Prime’s family have set up an online crowd-funding page: https://www.gofundme.com/prime-family-support.
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