Former Chelsea star Michael Ballack’s son’s crush injuries were so bad emergency responders who battled to save his life after his fatal quad bike accident needed counselling, it emerged today.
The heavy vehicle is believed to have landed on the teenager’s head from a height of around three feet after fun-loving Emilio, 18, was thrown backwards as he lost control of it.
Police and firefighters said the tragedy happened just after 2am on Thursday at the family holiday home in the picture-postcard resort of Troia an hour’s drive and ferry ride south of the Portuguese capital Lisbon.
Today security guards were patrolling the private street outside the sprawling villa as the tragic youngster’s two brothers and other loved ones holed up inside ahead of the post-mortem.
Emilio’s grandmother Karin is believed to have been one of the first to rush to his aid after his accident and made the 999 call.
German press have reported his 44-year-old former footballer dad was also at the property along with his other two sons Louis, 19, and Jordi, 16 and Emilio’s grandfather Stephan.
Police sources told respected Portuguese daily Correio da Manha: “According to witnesses, the youngster was performing a manoeuvre and the quad bike’s front wheels lifted up and tipped backwards, causing the young man to fall backwards. The vehicle went up three foot in the air and crushed him.”
Grief counsellors are understood to be assisting Michael and his family. The retired soccer star joined the Blues in 2006 from Bayern Munich and scored 25 goals during his four years at the Premier League club.
The whereabouts of his ex-wife Simone Lambe, mum to his three sons, is not yet known.
She posted photos at the weekend during a sunshine break in St Tropez but like her former husband has yet to make any official comment about their middle child’s death.
A post-mortem was due to take place today at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Santiago de Cacem an hour’s drive from Troia.
The results will be sent to a court in Setubal a 25-minute ferry ride north of Troia which is co-ordinating a routine investigation into the early-hours tragedy. Emilio had just graduated from the Munich International School in Berg on Lake Starnberg.
He was holidaying with his family at a property his dad bought several years ago a short walk from Praia de Troia-Gale beach at the end of the Troia Peninsula.
A narrow line of sand dunes separate the villa in a quiet private residential street, off a public road with security-controlled access close to a new five-star hotel eco-resort, from the beach.
Emilio posted photos of the sun setting over the pristine white sand at the weekend as well as another snap of Comporta Beach Club, a trendy hangout a ten-minute drive from the family holiday home.
His older brother, in an Instagram post late last month showing him sitting on a quad, said of the fun-packed break: “Quads were flipped, ferries were missed, new taste buds were explored.”
The Ballacks are understood to have enjoyed a family barbecue on Wednesday evening hours before the tragedy. It was not immediately clear today why Emilio had decided to ride his quad in the early hours of the morning.
Fire chief Claudio Tome, whose officers based at Grandola near Troia responded to the emergency, said as news of the tragedy emerged: “I know the dead man was the son of a well-known footballer but I don’t have details about who it was.
The accident happened at the family home. The quad rider wasn’t on a public road and his was the only vehicle involved. The quad was on an uneven piece of land and at this stage it appears to have gone backwards and as it did fell on top of the victim and crushed him.”
Jorge Santos, spokesman for the GNR police force in the city of Setubal , confirmed: “An 18-year-old man has died following an accident at a private property in Troia.
“We received an alert shortly after 2am yesterday morning.I am not at liberty to go into details about the identity of the dead man. I can confirm he was on the vehicle he had his accident in alone.
He added: “The accident happened at a property on a residential estate called Vilas do Mar in Troia. The incident is now under investigation and there is nothing more we can say.”
Although police and firefighters said the incident happened at a private property, respected Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias said Emilio Ballack was reversing out of the property on his quad when he had his fatal accident.
The paper said he is believed to have lost control of the vehicle during the manoeuvre out of the family villa and ended up on a public road with the quad on top of him after falling.
As well as a glittering career at Chelsea and German sides Bayern Leverkausen and Bayern Munich, Michael Ballack played for the German national side, making 98 appearances and scoring 42 goals in the process.
He played during World Cup tournaments in 2002, 2006, and played during qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup but never started a finals game due to injury.
He also played in the Euros in 2000, 2004, and 2008 – playing in the final of the latter tournament, which Germany lost to Spain.
Despite a lengthy career for the national side, he never lifted a major international trophy. Former Chelsea captain John Terry and Gary Lineker were among those to pay their tributes.
Ballack’s friend Reiner Calmund told Bild: “My thoughts are with Michael and his family. It’s all bitter, bitter, bitter.”
Former Germany team boss Rudi Voller said: “The news has shocked me and I am deeply affected. We mourn the boy and feel for Michael and Simone.”
Source:- Daily Star
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