Police are appealing for information after the alleged assault of Blake Willis on New Year's Day in Wagga.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
About 9am January 1, 2020, the 26-year-old was walking along Raye Street when he had a brief conversation with two men who were not known to him.
Police are asking for anyone who may have seen two men in their late teens to early 20s around the time of the incident to come forward as investigations continue.
The first man is described as dark-skinned and tall with a thin build and short dreadlocks, approximately 175cm tall. He was wearing white knee-length pants and a blue button-down shirt at the time of the alleged incident.
The second man is described as being dark-skinned and tall, and was wearing a camouflage coloured t-shirt, black football shirts and was riding a push bike at the time.
Mr Willis' mother Leanne Rankin said she hoped someone would come forward to stop another attack happening to someone else.
"No mother or father would want that happening to their child, and especially given the time of day, it was mid morning in broad daylight," she said.
"It really makes it sink in that it isn't safe out there."
Ms Rankin said her son had another follow up in Perth hospital to check his progress.
"Everything seems to be going okay. The far right side of his jaw doesn't seem to be healing to the plate though so they've given him antibiotics and antiinflammatory injections," she said.
"Has to go back in another month but everything else is healing fine, he's talking a lot better and only has a few months left on soft foods."
The concerned mother said it was difficult to comprehend that such a random attack could happen in Wagga.
"Blake wasn't even from here so he knew no one, it was just a random violent attack, not a robbery, just straight violence," she said.
"He had a good watch on, his wallet, $69 in his pocket so it can't be a robbery, just violence for no reason at all."
Police were told the first man became aggressive and chased Mr Willis before punching him in the face a number of times.
Mr Willis was allegedly kicked and punched repeatedly, before a knife was pulled from the second man's pocket and used to threaten him.
The 26-year-old fled the scene before collapsing and losing consciousness. A short time later, he returned to a relative's house and police were called.
Officers from Riverina Police District attended Wagga Base Hospital and spoke to Mr Willis who was later flown to Canberra Hospital for facial surgery.
He sustained a broken jaw, cuts and bruises as a result of the alleged altercation.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.