Motocross rider Reece Atteridge facing months of recovery after bike crash in Tassie

A Wodonga apprentice is lucky to be alive after a motorbike accident that left him with a broken back went untreated by Tasmanian health services.

Reece Atteridge will be going back to motocross when his back heals. Picture: Supplied

A birthday party, a motorcycle accident and a misdiagnosed broken back has ensured that 21-year-old Reece Atteridge will not be having a merry Christmas.

The Wodonga motocross enthusiast was at his cousin’s birthday party in Tasmania recently when he was thrown from his dirtbike on a leisurely family ride.

Reece was rushed from the Blue Derby Mountani Bike Trails to hospital in Launceston but, following scans, was given the all clear by doctors at the hospital and flew home to Victoria on last week.

Reece in hospital in Wodonga. Picture: Supplied

Unable to shake the agonising pain, he went to a hospital in Wodonga for a second opinion and after a second lot of scans, doctors there confirmed he had suffered five broken vertebrae, four bulged discs and two crushed nerves.

Doctors informed Reece he was lucky to be alive after remaining untreated following the crash for 48 hours.

A Tasmanian Department of Health spokesperson said they were actively looking into the circumstances of this case, but were unable to give us any specifics due to doctor/patient confidentiality.

Reece Atteridge competing in motocross. Picture: Supplied.

In the coming months the fourth year builder’s apprentice faces a gruelling recovery including numerous visits to rehab and specialist appointments, as well as being unable to work for several months.

Despite the setback, his sister says he’ll be returning to motocross as soon as he can.

“One hundred per cent,” she said.

Reece is now at home with his parents recovering and a fundraiser has been started to help him attend specialist appointments while he takes months off work.