Family praise Royal Flying Doctors Service one year after Gus McPherson, 10, breaks leg in motorbike crash

On a small trail, about 3km from his family’s home in WA’s Wheatbelt, 10-year-old Gus McPherson lay in agony.

The boy was riding his motorbike around his family’s Gillingarra farm — about 30km south of Moora — with his teenage sister, Georgie, when he ploughed into a gate on December 10, 2024.

After a family search, he was found on the trail with a broken tibia and fibula.

Mother Erin McPherson said the alarm bells began ringing after Georgie returned home without her younger brother.

“Georgie got back to the house and just asked if Gus was here . . . so I gave him a couple of minutes and said, ‘he might be right behind you, if not, we’ll give dad a call at the workshop’,” she told The West Australian.

“I called (my husband) Clint and he said, ‘No, he’s not here’. . . it was getting way too dark outside for Gus to be on the motorbike by himself, so I knew something wasn’t right.”

Gus was found on the trail with a broken tibia and fibula.

Ms McPherson said her son had smashed into the gate at “full speed” and that it was a miracle his injuries weren’t more serious.

“He just remembers looking over his shoulder to see if Georgie was coming behind him, and that’s when he hit the gate,” she said.

“He just hit it full pelt, straight into the metal gate, probably about 60 to 70km/h.”

Ms McPherson described the crash as an “unlucky accident”, but said motorbikes were a large part of farming culture.

She said Gus was an experienced rider who had been motorcycling since he was about four-years-old.

“Motorbikes are hugely part of our lifestyle here, they grow up on a motorbike,” she said.

“(They ride) if they’re rounding up sheep, or if they’ve got mates over they go for a ride, it’s something they do often.

“It was simply because he didn’t see the gate — I think it was because of the lighting, because the sun was starting to go down and there was a glare.”

Gus was rushed to Moora Hospital but was airlifted to Perth Children’s Hospital on the Royal Flying Doctors Service the following morning due concerns he had internal injuries.

Ms McPherson said she was worried her son had a concussion, but said she felt an immediate sense of calm after boarding the plane.

“He didn’t know where he was, he was repeating himself, he just didn’t understand what had happened,” she said.

“He was in so much pain on the road, but going onto the flight he was just so comfortable, which is a luxury isn’t it?”

RFDS doctor Mohammad Albiaty — who helped treat Gus — said motorbike injuries were complex because it was difficult to know if there were any internal injuries.

“With kids, there’s an added weight,” he said.

“You do everything by the book, but you’re very aware of the emotion behind the situation for everyone involved.

“The teamwork and collaboration in our small and highly skilled team is impressively seamless and mission focused.”

A year on, the now-11-year-old has made a full recovery and is back to his old sporty self.

“He’s back doing everything he loves — he plays cricket, he’s back on his motorbike, but probably not as often,” Ms McPherson said.

“He takes it a little easier which is a good thing because it slows him down and he realises what can happen.

“For a kid that’s very good at sport, he couldn’t swim, he couldn’t do cross country (when he was injured) . . . but now he’s doing everything he loves.”

Earlier this year, Ms McPherson organised a local fundraising run — raising a staggering $130,000 to say thanks to the RFDS for their remarkable service to WA’s rural community.

“We ran (26km) from the farm . . . to the local pub down the road, and we had 160 participants,” she said.

“(The RFDS) have become family, I have started to track and watch how many times the flights actually come to Moora.

“They’re such an incredible service, all the staff are just so passionate and we’re just so lucky to have them.”