Billy Heard was injured when the ski biscuit he was riding on and a jet-ski collided on the river at Curdievale on Sunday afternoon.

His father Murray, who grew up in Terang, said he was driving the boat while his wife and daughter watched Billy in the biscuit. 

“There was a jet-ski in front of us. It turned to go over the wake of the boat and jumped a bit and collided with the biscuit,” he told The Standard. 

“We pulled the boat up and then swam over. 

“He was unconscious and face-down in the water, then he was mumbling and not making any sense. 

“It was pretty terrifying. Our youngest child Paddy died early last year so that was in the back of our heads the entire time.” 

Mr Heard said Billy was taken to the Warrnambool Base Hospital for scans before being flown to The Royal Children’s Hospital about 2.30am on Monday. 

He said doctors and nurses in Warrnambool were confident there were no spine or neck injuries but wanted to be absolutely sure.

Mr Heard said Billy had a greenstick fracture and a shoulder injury. 

“There was a bit of swelling so they just wanted to make sure he was 100 per cent. 

“We were happy with that — after Paddy we wanted to be 120 per cent sure.” 

Mr Heard said his youngest son died in May last year from a rare brain virus while the family was on a trip around Australia. 

“We were just about ready to head off again after Paddy, so we just took a short trip to Peterborough to see some friends and to get us used to being back on the road again,” he said. 

“It’s been a pretty horrible couple of days.”

A police spokeswoman said investigations into the incident were continuing. 

She said a 29-year-old Allansford man had been questioned by local police and was released pending further inquiries.