Aidan Pudney recovering in Adelaide hospital after Cobdogla ute crash

A boy’s night out ended in tragedy for a Waikerie family when his mum received a call that her son was being flown to hospital after being involved in a car crash.

Aidan Pudney (middle), at the Royal Adelaide Hospital after he was run over on April 6, with his mum Tina (left) and dad Jay (right). Picture: Supplied by family

What was meant to be a fun boy’s night out with friends ended in tragedy for a Waikerie family when Tina Pudney received a phone call saying her son had been run over.

“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare,” the 50-year-old mother said.

In the early hours of Sunday, April 6, Aidan Pudney was with friends on a private property in Cobdogla, when he was flung from the front passenger seat of a ute through the side door and run over by the same car.

“We got a phone call roughly at 2.30 in the morning from another lad that was with him just telling us that our son had been in a really bad accident,” Ms Pudney said.

The mother-of-three, who was told her 20-year-old son was being flown to the RAH in Adelaide, said all she felt was shock.

Aidan Pudney (middle right), who was run over on April 6, with his sister Bella (left), dad Jay (middle left), mum Tina (middle) and brother Connor (right). Picture: Supplied by family

She said her son had been hanging out with his friends before going to a show in the Riverland on Saturday night.

After the crash, Ms Pudney said her son was coughing up blood then fell unconscious.

“A lad got him into the recovery position and another lad rang emergency services straight away.”

Ms Pudney said she was “really proud” of the boys who helped her son.

“If it wasn’t for him — he saved Aidan,” she said.

Aidan was with friends on a private property when the crash occurred. Picture: GoFundMe

Aidan was first transported to Berri Hospital before being flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

A Berri nurse was on the phone to an inconsolable Ms Pudney.

“She said ‘if it was my son, I’d want to be here right now’,” Ms Pudney said.

Ms Pudney, her husband and Aidan’s father, Jay, 52, and daughter and Aidan’s sister, Bella, 14, drove straight to the RAH to meet Aidan.

It was eight agonising hours before the Pudney family could see Aidan, during which they couldn’t help but think of the worse case scenario.

“We only had to go on what the nurse in Berri had said … it didn’t look promising,” Ms Pudney said.

“He was fighting for his life, so we didn’t know what to expect.”

Eventually doctors were able to tell the family the extent of Aidan’s injuries, who was in an induced coma at the time.

He sustained a punctured lung, three fractured vertebrae, a broken rib, forearm, nose and cheekbone smashed shoulder blade, and bleeding on the brain.

When Aidan came out of his coma the first thing he said was “where are my shoes?”.

“It made us smile,” Ms Pudney said.

He was in ICU for eight days — during which he’d not known who his parents were.

“That was the most heartbreaking thing of all,” Ms Pudney said.

“Having him yelling, wanting mum and I was right in front of him but he didn’t know me.”

Aidan continued to recover and since has moved to the trauma ward.

“He’s on his feet, he’s walking, he’s talking, he knows all of us, his memory is slowly coming back, he eventually will make a full recovery,” Ms Pudney said.

Aidan’s older brother Connor, who lives in Port Douglas decided to quit his job to move back to support his brother.

Police have charged the alleged driver, a 21-year-old Waikerie man, with causing serious harm by dangerous driving.

He is bailed to appear in the Berri Magistrates Court next month.

If you’d like to donate to the Pudney family, you can here.

Originally published as Aidan Pudney recovering in Adelaide hospital after Cobdogla ute crash