East Coast Bays rugby league under-12s player Tyryce McGuire, 12, was critically injured in a scooter crash on Thursday. Photo / Supplied
East Coast Bays rugby league under-12s player Tyryce McGuire, 12, was critically injured in a scooter crash on Thursday. Photo / Supplied
The community is rallying for a 12-year-old rugby league star who is in an induced coma after he was struck by a car while riding his scooter.
Tyryce McGuire suffered terrible injuries in the accident, at Northcross, on Auckland's North Shore, on Thursday afternoon.
He was rushed to Starship Hospital where he had surgery to stop massive internal bleeding and damage to his liver. His condition has stabilised but he is still fighting for his life in intensive care.
Tyryce, who is a popular winger in the under-12s team at East Coast Bays Rugby League Club, was injured after he lost control of his scooter while riding down a hill.
He went into the path of an oncoming vehicle at the intersection of Cottam Grove and Topliss Drive.
Jessie Morris, a close friend of the family, said it was a miracle Tyryce was still alive. He also suffered a number of broken bones, a bad head injury and numerous lacerations.
"He had to be resuscitated twice at the scene and fortunately one of his friends was there and he immediately called an ambulance," she said. "It is every parent's nightmare that something like this can happen in the blink of an eye.
"He had hit the windscreen and was lying on the road. Apparently it was a horrific scene."
Morris said when Tyryce got to hospital surgeons told his mother Patti McGuire his chances of survival were slim.
Family friend Jessie Morris holds the hand of 12-year-old Tyryce McGuire who is in a coma after his scooter and a car collided. Photo / Supplied
"The first 24 hours after the accident were terrible, we were told to prepare for the worst and say goodbye to him," she said. "But Tyryce is such a fighter and has defied all the odds.
"He is expected to be in an induced coma 'til Monday and everyone is praying for him. We are just taking things hour by hour.
"We also feel for the driver of the vehicle because it must have given him a terrible shock."
Tyryce, from Bayswater, was on his way to visit his grandmother in Torbay and was with two friends when the accident happened.
A Topliss Drive resident, who did not want to be named, said she had just returned after from collecting her two children from school, when she heard sirens coming past her house.
Tyryce attends Northcross Intermediate with the woman's daughter and rides his scooter at the local skate park with her son.
"They were really shocked. My son said that if you are ever in a bad mood and run into him [the boy], he will always cheer you up," she said.
East Coast Bays club president Bryce Swainson said Tyryce is a talented player who is popular with his team mates.
"We are saddened by this terrible incident and we feel for everyone involved," he said.
