How Tony Modra’s son’s quick thinking saved his life after devastating car crash

Tony Modra’s wife has revealed the key role their teenage son played in saving the AFL legend’s life after he was involved in a devastating truck crash.

The Adelaide Crows icon has woken after undergoing facial surgery and remains in a serious but stable condition after a fallen tree branch smashed through the windscreen of the cattle truck he was driving on Thursday evening.

He had surgery on Friday and had regained consciousness by Saturday afternoon – much to the relief of his family and Crows supporters.

Modra’s wife Erica told Nine News she was on the phone to the footy icon when the crash occurred.

She said it was their 14-year-old son who immediately called triple-0 and used the Find My Phone app to pinpoint Modra’s location and relay it to emergency services.

Erica said Modra, after his truck was struck by the branch, had been able to pull over to avoid anyone else being caught up in the chaos.

Modra’s former Crows teammate and good friend Mark Ricciuto delivered an update on his condition on Saturday afternoon.

‘He’s awake with his wife Erica and his kids,’ Ricciuto said just before three-quarter time in the team’s match against Melbourne on Saturday.

‘They just want to say thank you for all the well-wishes.

‘He’s showing the grit everyone expected from Tony.

‘The great news is there is growing optimism that he is going to recover, and recover well.’

Erica Modra joked about the effect of the accident on her husband’s looks once he had made it out of the woods.

‘Erica said to me just before, “He’s not going to be the same good-looking Tony Modra, he’s going to have some scars”,’ Ricciuto revealed.

‘I said, “Well, he can be like us for once instead of being good looking as he always has been”.’

It is understood that the 57-year-old’s surgery involved complex procedures to repair the effects of the crash on his jaw, eye socket and cheek.

He was rushed into intensive care at Flinders Medical Centre after the crash at Back Valley on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

It is understood a tree or branch crashed onto Modra’s cattle truck as he drove home to his farm near Waitpinga, about 10km west of Victor Harbor in South Australia, during strong winds.

Pop singer Guy Sebastian was among those paying tribute to the footy ‘warrior’.

‘That warrior’s spirit, I’m sure is coming in very handy now, everyone loves you mate, you’re a legend, get well,’ he said.

Footy fans also paid their respects to Modra – who wore the No.6 guernsey for the Crows – by applauding at the six-minute mark of the team’s win over the Demons at Adelaide Oval.

‘We’re hearing positive thoughts, there’s a lot of positive news coming back,’ Crows coach Matthew Nicks said after his side won by 17 points.

‘But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.’

Modra is renowned as among the most spectacular players in AFL history – he kicked 588 goals in 165 games for the Crows and Dockers between 1992-2001.

The 57-year-old, a father of two, was injured in a freak accident near his sheep and cattle farm about 90km south of Adelaide.