Former AFL player Colin Sylvia, pictured here in 2017, has died in a car accident near Mildura.Credit:AAP
Former AFL player Colin Sylvia has died in a car crash in Victoria’s north-west.
The death was confirmed by former Melbourne Football Club captain Garry Lyon on Monday morning.
Sylvia, 32, was driving in the Mildura suburb of Irymple when his car collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Nineteen Street and Benetook Avenue about 2.20pm on Sunday.
The scene of the collision on Benetook Avenue and Nineteenth Street at Irymple. Former AFL player Colin Sylvia is believed to have died at the scene.Credit:Picture: Sunraysia Daily.
“Colin Sylvia has tragically been killed in a car accident near Mildura, just out of Mildura last night,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.
“Some of the details are a bit sketchy but a two-car collision up there … Our condolences and sympathies are extended to Colin Sylvia and his family and friends.”
Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives are continuing to investigate the cause of the collision.
Sylvia died at the scene. The driver of the second vehicle was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A local resident who lives on Nineteenth Street told Fairfax Media there had been multiple crashes at the intersection in the past decade but traffic islands had been installed in recent years and safety seemed to have improved.
Former teammates and close friends have taken to social media to pay tribute to the former Melbourne and Fremantle player.
"To my best mate, I still can’t believe it. Words can’t describe how I’m feeling!!! We were always side by side no matter where we were," wrote friend and former player Brent Moloney.
"My thoughts go out to his beautiful family, I’m gonna miss you brother."
The former midfielder went on to play 157 games for the Demons between 2004 and 2013 and a further six for Fremantle in 2014.
Former AFL player agent Ricky Nixon said he was a "unique talent".
"I managed Col early days he was unique talent sadly now lost. My heart goes out to family & friends. Lost way too soon," he wrote on social media.
Lyon told SEN Breakfast that after a number of off-field issues, Sylvia had been getting his life back on track.
“Colin was taken really early in the draft, I think pick number three, was a really talented footballer at the Melbourne footy club," he said.
“Just one of those footballers where that talent and potential was never fulfilled, found his way to Fremantle and couldn’t get settled over there either.
“He has had some off-field issues he has had to deal with along the way and tragically overnight, he has been killed in a car accident."
Sylvia's girlfriend Mindy Jory posted a photo of the former player on Facebook on Monday morning, saying he was "so beautiful inside and out".
Former Melbourne star David Schwarz told SEN radio Sylvia had issues off the field but he was a "gifted" player.
"Very, very, very sad, the news came through last night that Colin had passed away and it was disbelief, he was such a young man," he said.
"At the age of 15 when he played in a senior grand final … everyone thought this kid was going to be go on to be a superstar.
"He played 163 games and was a good player… but probably he liked life more than he liked his footy, so he probably fell through a few cracks at Melbourne and then Fremantle, and I think the transition out of footy to life was really difficult for Col and he had a lot of battles away from the football field he was dealing with. He had a really tough journey especially after retirement."
Sylvia grew up in nearby Merbein, making his debut for the seniors team in the Sunraysia Football League at just 15, helping the club take home the 2002 premiership.
The former midfielder went on to play 157 games for the Demons between 2004 and 2013 and a further six for Fremantle in 2014.
Drafted by the Demons in 2003, Sylvia's decade with the club was marred by injuries.
He was picked up by Fremantle Football Club as an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2013, but by the start of the 2015 season had been relegated to the WAFL, retiring from the game later that year.
He returned to Mildura and signed at the start of this year with local club Meringur as an assistant coach for the 2018 Millewa Football League season.
In 2016 he suffered a fractured neck and bleeding on the brain after falling from a balcony.
Sylvia last year pleaded guilty to climbing onto a balcony to spy on his ex-girlfriend, filming her as she slept, just two days after a court had ordered Sylvia to stay away from the woman.
He also admitted in January this year to using stolen credit card details at a Melbourne brothel and to buy pornography and transfer more than $4000 into an online betting account.
The exact cause of the fatal collision is yet to be determined.
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