Aussie teen in critical condition after horror accident on Schoolies in Bali
A Newcastle teenager who was in Bali celebrating Schoolies is in a critical condition in hospital after a scooter crash on the Indonesian island.
Lawson Rankin's friends found his scooter lodged deep inside a concrete drain on Saturday night, according to a statement released on his family's behalf.
The 18-year-old had been riding with his friends when he accelerated to pursue a driver who snatched a friend's phone, the statement said.
Mr Rankin's friends found him unconscious, face-down and drowning in the sewer with a split helmet and cuts to his head.
They lifted him out and started CPR while locals called an ambulance, with the teenager's family saying they were "eternally grateful for the heroic actions of these young men".
Mr Rankin's family have flown to Indonesia to be by his side at the Bali International Medical Centre, where he is yet to wake up after suffering a brain haemorrhage, an infection from the water that entered his lungs and a head wound. He is in a critical but stable condition.
"This is the most devastating thing a parent can go through, to see our beautiful son in this state in a foreign country is extremely horrific. We need to bring him home," his family said in the statement.
The St Francis Xavier's College graduate had travel insurance but did not have the international licence required to ride a motorbike, which means the family will not receive cover for medical costs, the statement said.
They've raised more than $100,000 for Mr Rankin via a GoFundMe page.
"The bills are already over $30,000 for a few days in an international hospital and he may not be able to travel for weeks, so this will continue to rise," the family said.
They said an expensive Medevac flight to Sydney and transfers to Newcastle would follow.
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