Reveller’s regret

Peacemaker’s fight for life after taunts spark brawl

GOLD Coast reveller Jake Gahan wishes he had just brushed off taunts from strangers in the heart of Surfers Paradise in the early hours of yesterday.

The 22-year-old Rockhampton local said it could have prevented a horrific fight which has left a young man in a critical condition and a German national behind bars facing a charge of causing grievous bodily harm.

Mr Gahan doesn’t even remember the 23-year-old who boldly tried to break up a confrontation between two groups, including himself and Maxim Wecker, on Orchard Ave about 3am.

The Oxenford good Samaritan who daringly stepped in to stop the fight later received a sickening blow to the back of his head, just a few metres from the original altercation, according to police.

He collapsed and hit his head on the footpath, immediately fell unconscious, stopped breathing and began convulsing.

Police rushed to his aid and began resuscitation and had revived him shortly after.

Other officers chased down the men involved in the fight.

They were found on The Esplanade a short time later.

Mr Gahan, who was fined $363 yesterday for causing a public nuisance, can only remember sitting in front of the Hilton Hotel with blood streaming down his face.

He conceded he had been drinking and wished he had not responded to any provocation.

“I just got into an argument,” Mr Gahan said.

“The next thing I saw something in the corner of my eye and I just got hit in the face.”.

Mr Gahan made an attempt to thank the good Samaritan at Gold Coast University Hospital yesterday but he wasn’t allowed to visit the 23-year-old due to the man’s condition.

“Definitely, I have to thank him,” Mr Gahan said.

“He didn’t have to come over.”

Acting Senior Sergeant Mark Mooney said the incident was a reminder of how lives could be ruined with a single punch. He said the German consulate and Immigration Department had been notified about Mr Wecker.

Yesterday, Mr Wecker briefly appeared in Southport Magistrates Court, where he made no application for bail.

Anthony Boussofara, 27, was also charged with public nuisance in relation to the incident.

He will appear on November 15, along with Mr Wecker.

There is no suggestion either Mr Wecker or Mr Boussofara struck Mr Gahan.

JAKE GAHAN