Aaron Blacker shares horror aftermath of Alice Springs assault, witnessed by wife, children
A former Alice Springs mayoral candidate and father was ‘three minutes from dying’ after being viciously attacked by a scooter-wielding assailant. He has shared his story. GRAPHIC.
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NT Police have identified the suspects of a vicious alleged assault involving a kids’ toy scooter, which left an Alice Springs rugby club committee member’s head split open.
While out with his wife, kids, and friends on March 29, Aaron Blacker was hit in the back of the head – allegedly with a scooter – in an attack he has no memory of.
He was out celebrating wife Heidi’s birthday when “both of our children saw me hit with a scooter and knocked unconscious”.
The attack severed an artery, Mrs Blacker said, with her husband almost bleeding out on Todd St as paramedics attended to him.
“On the night, the doctors treated me in emergency for a ruptured temporal artery and a laceration to the head,” Mr Blacker said.
Mrs Blacker said she’s been a sports medic for 20 years, where she’s seen some “nasty, bloody things”, but her husband’s injury was something else.
“To see your loved one on the ground in that situation and out cold, you knew that it … it’s not right – you knew that it was serious, really serious,” she said.
“The doctors came out and saw me after they’d attended to stop the bleeding – and basically all the doctors and nurses on that night were shocked that had happened.
“(They) came out and said to me, look, we’ve put some staples and stitches in his head, but there was that much blood that they had to go in blind and basically guess where the wound was.”
Mr Blacker and his family have been in and out of hospital for treatment since.
He is suffering from the effects of a concussion, and has had blood in his ear – which caused hearing loss at one point, he said.
“There was a lot of blood inside my ear and they weren’t entirely sure what that was, whether it had come from inside the ear or if it leaked into the ear,” he said.
“But the cause of the infected blood behind my eardrum is making the symptoms of the concussion worse.”
Mr Blacker – who once ran for Mayor in Alice Springs – is a well known community figure, thanks to his involvement in rugby in the town.
Mr Blacker said he has not been able to go back to rugby training in the wake of the assault, after previously not missing training for 20 years.
“We went down to the (Todd Mall) markets on Sunday morning. I was there for about half an hour and I couldn’t handle the noise or the bright lights or anything,” he said.
“I had to go home and basically spent all day Sunday and all day Monday in bed or on the couch because I just couldn’t function.”
On Wednesday afternoon, an NT Police spokesman told this masthead they’ve now identified two suspects in their investigation, which remains ongoing.
The spokesman confirmed officers had been in touch with the Blackers, and that police were still taking witness statements.
“At this stage, no arrests have been made,” they said.
Mr and Mrs Blacker say they want more communication from the officers regarding the investigation.
“I was three minutes away from dying – from bleeding to death – and someone walked, just walked away into the darkness,” Mr Blacker said.
“People in my circumstance, we shouldn’t be chasing the police for answers.”
The spokesman urged anyone with information to come forward and contact police on 131 444.
They asked reference number NTP2500032612 be quoted in relation to the assault.
Anonymous reports can also be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online.
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