EXCLUSIVE: Son of footy legend Nathan Buckley is seriously injured in high-speed karting accident leaving him with a ‘lacerated kidney and liver’ and snapping his collarbone
- Jett Buckley crashed his high-speed go kart during a practice session
- He is the son of AFL great and former Collingwood champion Nathan Buckley
- Jett’s brake line split forcing his kart off the track at furious speeds
- He was tossed from his kart like a rag doll and flung down an embankment
- Jett’s kart landed on top of him as shocked team mates ran to his aid
- He remains in hospital with more scans on his battered body required
The son of former AFL great Nathan Buckley has narrowly avoided death in a serious karting accident during a high-speed practice session.
Jett Buckley – who is the spitting image of his dad during his peak powers with Collingwood – had been guiding his kart around an inner-Melbourne track when the brake line on his kart snapped.
The 15-year-old was thrown from the kart down an embankment, landing on the tarmac with the kart landing on top of him.
Paramedics and firefighters treat Jett Buckley after he was involved in a nasty crash during practice in Melbourne
Jett Buckley is treated by paramedics after crashing his go kart in Melbourne
Jett and his famous father Nathan Buckley during an earlier event
Posting on Instagram on Wednesday, Jett confirmed he was lucky to be alive.
‘I have lacerated my kidney and liver. I have also snapped my clavicle (collarbone),’ he told his followers.
‘My elbow and forearm are yet to be determined, waiting for scans.’
Jett remains in the Royal Children’s Hospital, where he is expected to stay for the coming days.
Harrowing photos posted to Instagram show the shocking moments immediately after the crash.
Firefighters and paramedics can be seen treating Buckley on the track, with his trashed kart pictured in the foreground.
Jett is comforted by his mum Tania on the way to hospital
Royal Children’s Hospital staff in Melbourne treat the injured racer
Jett’s clavicle was smashed to pieces in the shocking crash
Other images show Jett’s mum Tania, who split with dad Nathan in December 2020, comforting her son within the back of an ambulance.
Jett’s smashed clavicle can be seen as he lay motionless on a stretcher on the way to hospital.
X-rays show his left clavicle in pieces, with the teenager facing surgery to have steel plates inserted at the tip of his collarbone in an effort to heal the mangled bone.
Jett appeared to be practicing to compete in an endurance event scheduled for this weekend.
He thanked those that rushed to offer him assistance, paying special tribute to the paramedics that treated him on scene.
‘Thank you to the ambulance drivers Ben and Laine and everyone else that was on the scene,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘Thanks to all the nurses and doctors at the Royal Children’s Hospital.’
Jett Buckley (right) is pictured with his karting coach Brad Jenner
Jett Buckley (pictured) was injured in a racing mishap and is recovering in hospital
Former Magpies coach Nathan Buckley (centre) with sons Jett (right) and Ayce (left)
Jett said he would be spending ‘a few days’ at hospital for ‘complete rest’.
The young racer has enjoyed repeated success on the track behind the wheel of an Italian-made kart worth close to $7000.
Karting has long been regarded the fastest way to get behind the wheel of Formula 1 vehicles.
Unlike the kind of karts you rent at local karting complexes, professional karts can hit speeds of more than 100km/h.
Jett had previously spoken of the injuries he had sustained at the wheel of a kart.
‘With a blood nose and a tangle in the final the day, didn’t turn out too badly,’ Jett wrote after a race in Rochester just months ago.
Jett is coached by champion karter Brad Jenner, who boasts multiple Australian championships.
Jett’s famous father has not publicly addressed his son’s accident.
In October, Nathan Buckley flaunted his new girlfriend in front of his ex-partner at the Justin Cassin X Redken show at Melbourne Fashion Week.
The former AFL player, 50, showed up to the event with another brunette beauty on his arm as he was seated just a few feet away from his ex Alex Pike.
Nathan and Alex began dating in early 2021 during the months which followed his separation from ex-wife Tania Minnici after 18 years.
Regarded as one of the greatest AFL footballers of all time, Nathan played 280 games before going on to coach his beloved Collingwood Football Club.
He has now settled back into roles with the media since leaving the Magpies last year.
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