Heartbroken father makes desperate plea for son’s attacker to come forward
A heartbroken family has made a desperate plea for his son’s attacker to come forward after he was left for dead during a night out in the Melbourne CBD.
Kevin Vidovic remains in hospital with critical injuries nearly two months after he was set upon.
The 25-year-old is hooked up to a ventilator with a fractured skull and spends every minute fighting to survive.
His father, Ilija, is struggling to relive the night his son’s heart stopped beating on the concrete in Southbank.
“He was dead. He was dead,” he said.
Vidovic was having dinner with two friends when they were set upon by a group of men on October 30.
The brawl spilled onto the street, Vidovic was coward punched, fell backwards and hit his head.
His loved ones were overseas when they received a gut-wrenching phone call.
“(He) was found dead at the front of the venue and revived in the back of the ambulance,” Vidovic’s brother Ivan said.
“We were pretty much told to say our goodbyes with him in ICU.”
Vidovic has severe brain injuries and had part of his skull removed to relieve swelling.
He was in a coma in the ICU for several weeks, unable to breathe without a machine.
His two friends were also seriously hurt and both needed surgery.
“It was chaotic. It was like a nightmare that wouldn’t end,” his brother said.
The Vidovic family is still holding out hope.
Just this week, their loved one opened his eyes for the first time in nearly two months, but the road to recovery will be no easy feat.
“There will be long-term disabilities,” his brother said.
“He will not be the man he was,” his father said.
Two 26-year-old men have been arrested and will face court next year.
Police are hoping anyone who recorded or witnessed the incident will come forward.
Police want to identify one man in the hope he holds some clues to the attack.
“It’s just the right thing to do. Kevin deserves all the assistance he can get. I can’t help him with his recovery but I can help him in terms of trying to get some justice for him,” Detective Senior Constable Belinda Petrovska said.
A crowdfunding website has been set up by friends and family for Vidovic’s recovery and medical expenses.
