Former Melbourne Football Club and Fremantle star Colin Sylvia has died after a car accident near Mildura. He was 32.
The news was confirmed on-air this morning by Demons luminary Garry Lyon.
The Herald Sun reports Sylvia was travelling through an intersection in the town of Irymple early yesterday afternoon when the collision occurred.
The driver of another vehicle involved in the incident was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The Victoria Police Major Collision Investigation Unit is working to determine the cause of the crash.
Sylvia was selected by Melbourne as the third pick in the 2003 AFL Draft, and the midfielder racked up 157 games with the club before transferring to Fremantle in 2014.
He played six games for the Western Australian side, before announcing his retirement in April 2015.
Lyon described Sylvia as a “really talented footballer at the Melbourne footy club” whose “talent and potential was never fulfilled,” partially due to off-field issues.
Last year, he admitted to spying on and filming a former partner. In January this year, Sylvia plead guilty to using stolen credit card details, and was handed a community-based corrections order.
At that court hearing, his father Craig Sylvia said Colin had struggled with life after his AFL career.
“Hopefully this is the end of it,” the elder Sylvia said.
“He’s working really well towards that now at home.”
RIP.
