Alice Springs tow truck driver loses sight in one eye after rock throwing incident

Surgery to save the sight of an Alice Springs tow truck driver who had a rock was thrown through his window has failed.

An Alice Springs tow truck driver has lost sight in one eye after a rock was thrown at his vehicle during a late-night job on Wednesday evening.

Andrew Mowles, who owns Alice Hosetech and Industrial Supplies, confirmed his employee, Matt, had lost sight in his left eye after a rock throwing incident saw him undergo surgery on Thursday afternoon.

“Matt has lost vision in his eye. The eye has been cut in half.

“Trying to keep positive,” he said on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Mowles said Matt had been completing a recovery job about 10.30pm on Wednesday when a rock was thrown at him on Larapinta Dr, Alice Springs.

“Matt had his windows down because it was a nice evening and a rock’s caught him in the eye, just below his eye,” he said.

Matt had surgery on his eye late on Thursday afternoon but on Friday morning was still waiting to hear from doctors about whether he would lose his eye.

“He ended up pulling up at the main set of traffic lights, with blood pouring out of his face.

“He’s pulled up at the traffic lights, called one of my co-workers, I don't think he knew what really happened, he wasn’t coherent, and then we raced down and the coppers took him to the hospital.”

Mr Mowles said Matt had been recovering an allegedly stolen vehicle from the Gillen Club.

On Thursday, a 40-year-old man was charged after he allegedly stole a car with a child in the backseat in Alice Springs.

Police said the child was found in Gillen a short time later, still inside the allegedly stolen vehicle.

Drone footage showed the arrest of the man outside the Gillen Club.

Mr Mowles said rocks were thrown at tow trucks completing late-night jobs so often he kept spare side windows for his trucks in the office.

Mr Mowles was concerned someone could face worse injuries or die if the rock throwing incidents in the area continued.

“That’s where it’s at, it’s ridiculous,” he said.

“The last one (before this incident) was the size of a cricket ball, if that hit you in the head you’re dead, we’re lucky this was just a small rock.”

Mr Mowles said Matt had surgery late on Thursday afternoon and on Friday morning was still waiting to hear from the doctors about whether he would lose his eye.

He confirmed on Saturday that doctors could not save his left eye sight.

Mr Mowles said he was concerned it was “only a matter of time” before somebody was “seriously hurt” if the rock throwing did not stop.

“This is serious, but nothing has seriously happened yet, this will get worse before it will get better.”

It comes after Namatjira MLA Bill Yan was hit with a Facebook ban two weeks ago for a 40-second clip expressing concern about rock throwing in Larapinta.

“The biggest issue people are having out here currently is kids throwing rocks at cars when they’re driving around at night,” he said.

“Because it’s only a matter of time before somebody gets seriously injured or killed with these kids throwing rocks at cars as they are driving around the suburbs here in Larapinta and wider in Alice Springs.”

NT Police acting assistant commissioner Daniel Bacon said the act of rock-throwing was “particularly abhorrent”, and carried with it a penalty of up to four years in jail.

“I don’t implore people about the penalty as such but more so what if it was your wife or girlfriend or partner, your husband or your child that potentially could be killed, could lose a limb, could lose an eye,” he said.

“It’s about the consequences of your behaviour as much as the consequences of what could happen when you get caught.”

Originally published as Alice Springs tow truck driver loses sight in one eye after rock throwing incident