This was published 13 years ago
'Human tumbleweed': Radio host breaks back in bike crash
By Michael Lallo
Top-rating radio presenter Matt Tilley has broken his back after being hit by a car in St Kilda on Saturday.
He was rushed to The Alfred hospital after the accident, suffering two fractured vertebrae, a fractured rib and a bruised kidney.
The Fox FM breakfast co-host, well-known for his "gotcha" prank calls, was cycling past the St Kilda Sea Baths on Beach Road when he was knocked off his bike.
He was released from hospital last night and has been told to rest in bed.
Broken back .... Matt Tilley in The Alfred hospital.Credit: Austereo
Yet the veteran radio announcer was on-air this morning after phoning in from home.
He told his co-hosts: "I got knocked off my bike by a guy who swung across the bike lane ... and just 'smash'. And I sort of did the human tumbleweed along the road for a while. Eventually I came to a stop and an ambulance came and I got the green whistle."
He said that he was taken to the trauma section of the Alfred hospital.
"They said probably I won't need a body brace, which is a pity because they're quite slimming."
Popular host ... Matt Tilley on air for Fox FM.
"I am in a lot of pain but they've given me some tablets."
Tilley claimed the motorist who hit him "wasn't looking; he just went straight across the line without indicating or looking".
But added that he was "very apologetic ... I'm not sure I'm allowed to talk about it too much because it's in the hands of the police and I've remunerated them appropriately so that he gets the full penalty of the law.
"I just remember bouncing along the road going, 'This isn't good'."
I just remember bouncing along the road going, 'This isn't good'.
Tilley, now in his 15th year as Fox's breakfast co-host, is Melbourne's longest-serving FM breakfast presenter.
The Matt & Jo Show, co-hosted by Jo Stanley, Troy Ellis and Adam Richard, is the highest-rating FM breakfast show. In the latest Nielsen survey, it attracted almost 670,000 listeners and an audience share of 10 per cent.
Richard will cover for Tilley until he returns to work.