The impact of Jordan Purcell’s death has rippled through the tight-knit Alexandra township

The shocking hit-run that left a young footballer dead has torn apart the community of Alexandra, northeast of Melbourne, as the victim’s family push for answers.

Jordan Purcell’s family, Ebony, Sue and Lyndon. Picture: Daniel Pockett

The father of a young footballer killed in a tragic hit and run says he is “gutted” no one has been held accountable for his son’s death, which has torn apart a tiny regional town.

Jordan Purcell, 20, died after he was struck by a Toyota HiLux believed to be driven by one of his teammates, Jack Goonan, on June 16, 2019, leaving the community of Alexandra divided.

Passers-by who discovered the talented football and cricket player lying in the middle of the road tried to revive him, but he died on the way to hospital.

Mr Purcell was flung more than 8m when he was hit on Hall St in Alexandra, 140km northeast of Melbourne, just after midnight.

Jordan Purcell died in the hit-run crash in 2019.

The scene in Alexandra where the smash happened.

Mr Goonan was last year committed to stand trial in the County Court, having pleaded not guilty to culpable driving causing death, failing to stop and failing to render assistance.

But last week, following a trial conducted by a judge alone, Mr Goonan was found not guilty on all three charges.

Jordan’s father, Michael Purcell, told the Herald Sun his family has been “pushed to the limit” by the trial’s outcome, after waiting for details about the exact events that led to Jordy’s death for four years.

His eldest son, Lyndon, spent his 30th birthday in the courtroom alongside his father, awaiting the outcome of the trial.

“We pretty much just stood in the court hugging each other bawling,” Mr Purcell said.

Jordan Purcell’s father Michael Purcell says his family has been ‘pushed to the limit’. Picture: Alexandra Cricket Club

“We walked out back into the oblivion of Melbourne, and immersed ourselves in people that we didn’t know and didn’t know us and tried to try to just move on.

“It’s been a roller coaster of ups and downs, and at the end of it, I’m trying to find a way up.”

Mr Purcell said the years following Jordy’s death have been “incredibly difficult” for him and his family living in such a small regional town.

“For mum and dad (Jordy’s grandparents), it just completely gutted them,” he said.

“It has been incredibly stressful, not only not having an outcome, but knowing full well you’re placed in a very small space with people that were involved in this.

“There were four other occupants of that car, and all of their extended families live in Alexandra.

“You don’t really want to have to have contact with these people, but we’re talking about a tiny town, so I can’t just run away. I’ve been in the Alexandria district all my life.”

Speaking through tears, Jordan’s sister Katelyn, 14, remembered her brother as a troublemaker she wished she could have grown up with.

“He wasn’t there for my first steps, but he was there to teach me how to kick a footy. He was always there to get us into trouble,” she said.

“Sometimes I just wonder what it would be like if he’d just come to knock on the door, if we grew up together, where we’d be now.”

The impact of Jordy’s death has rippled through the tight-knit Alexandra township.

Mr Purcell said: “Jordy has two grieving parents. Jordy has several grieving siblings, a brother and a sister. He has countless grieving cousins. He has four still living, grieving grandparents. He has a number of grieving aunties and uncles. So we’re not talking about the small number of people that are left gathered here. It’s an immense amount of people.”

The years since Jordan’s death have been ‘incredibly difficult’ for his family. Picture: Alexandra Cricket Club

Jordy was described in the wake of his death as a popular young man who had a lot of friends at the Alexandra Rebels Football Club.

He had returned to Alexandra from his home in Mount Duneed – some 250km away – to play football for the local reserves team.

His teammates have remembered him as a “gun cricketer” who inspired younger players at the Alexandra Cricket Club, where he helped carry the team to finals victory the year before his death.

The club established the Jordan Purcell Memorial Shield in the young man’s honour.

President Darren Waixel said Jordy was “larger than life” and that his encouragement and effort remain the driving factors behind determining the award’s recipients.

“Jordy was a big part of the cricket club. He was an arrogant little bastard but he could back it up,” Mr Waixel said.

Mr Purcell said he was grateful to Crown Prosecutor Robyn Harper and her team for seeking justice for his son.

The court heard how in the hours before Mr Purcell’s death, the football club was holding its annual raffle function.

According to the prosecution, Mr Goonan drank approximately 10 to 12 mid-strength Great Northern beer stubbies that night.

It was estimated he was more than triple the legal limit when he jumped behind the wheel of the HiLux and offered to drive a couple of mates to the after-party.

The passengers told the court they thought they hit something that night, but conditions were so foggy they “couldn’t see shit”.

Crown Prosecutor Robyn Harper, in her opening submissions, argued Mr Goonan was “negligent” and under the influence of alcohol to such an extent he was “incapable of having proper control” of the vehicle.

She said Mr Goonan admitted to police the following day that he drove the HiLux from the club to the party.

But Mr Goonan’s defence lawyer Hayden Rattray argued the evidence against his client was circumstantial and “insufficient to exclude hypotheses consistent with innocence”, such as another person’s vehicle hitting Mr Purcell.