10-year-old airlifted after rope injury on remote Queensland bike track

While riding his motorbike on a remote dirt-bike circuit outside Cunnamulla, ten-year-old Braymond Pyke collided with a rope that had been stretched across the track, injuring his neck and causing internal bruising. After his mother, Bronwyn Wood, drove him to the Cunnamulla hospital, he was airlifted first to Roma and then to Toowoomba for treatment, where he later returned home with rope burns and scratches. Police are investigating the cause of the rope, noting that drovers had recently used the area and may have left electric fence wire behind.

Braymond’s father, Brendon Pyke, said drovers should mark and remove such hazards, while also acknowledging the possibility of intentional placement. Local resident Troy Nelson, who maintains the track, cut down about ten similar ropes after the incident and recalled another recent, less serious rope injury involving a child. The family urges other riders to verify track safety before riding.