Australian cyclist Matthew Rex is in a serious but stable condition after being hit by a car driven by friend and training partner Chris Jongewaard in Normanville, South Australia on Saturday night. Rex, a former member of the Australian Institute of Sport's under 23 program who now rides for Stuart O'Grady's development squad, Team O'Grady, sustained severe head injuries in the accident and is currently in an induced coma.
Rex was riding with another person when the crash happened near to the Normanville hotel where Rex and Jongewaard had been celebrating Rex's 22nd birthday. "The circumstances of the crash are extremely unusual," said Rex's manager Max Stevens to the Adelaide Sunday Mail. "The family is obviously devastated with what's happened. It looks like a case of a birthday celebration that has turned into a tragedy."
