Teenager severs artery punching windscreen, police say

A teenager has been rushed to hospital with significant blood loss after he allegedly punched a car windscreen in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.

Police were called to the scene of the incident on Commercial Road at Seaford Rise at about 12:45am, following reports of an altercation.

The 19-year-old man was found with a serious cut to his arm and received first aid from a police patrol until paramedics arrived.

“It appears that he had punched the rear windscreen of a car and severed an artery in his arm,” police said in a statement.

The car was found, with its rear window smashed, in a park outside a local vet next to the Beach Hotel Seaford.

The man “sustained significant blood loss” and was rushed to the Flinders Medical Centre in a life-threatening condition.

Police said the “young man is lucky to be alive” and will undergo surgery later today.

His condition is now considered stable.

Local hospital worker David Montgomery said he had been at the pub with friends and had gone to get something from his car when he heard a fight going on, and then a smash.

“I took two seconds to realise that was my car, and I realised the bloke’s gone up and smashed the whole rear window,” he said.

Mr Montgomery said that, despite the damage to the vehicle, his priority was making sure the situation did not escalate and getting medical attention for the man.

“Luckily there was a police car just around the corner, I ran up the 20 metres and I called them over to come and treat the bloke because he was in bad shape. It was not a pretty sight,” he said.

“There’s a good chance if he tried to run off … he could have ended up dying.”

Mr Montgomery said he did not know what had prompted the initial altercation, but that the man appeared “quite aggressive”.

Police have asked any witnesses who have not yet provided details to police to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.