Emilio Ballack: Quad bike flew 3ft in air before landing on teen, killing him
Quad bike ridden by Michael Ballack’s son ‘flew three feet into the air before crushing and killing him’ – leaving him with such horrific injuries rescue workers needed counselling
- Emilio Ballack, 18, died Thursday in a quad bike crash at family’s Portuguese villa
- Teen was performing ‘a manoeuvre’ around 2.07am when bike tipped backwards, causing it to shoot 3ft in the air before crashing down on him
- Injuries were so severe that fire crew who pulled him free were offered therapy
- Father Michael Ballack and brothers Louis and Jordi are today holed up in the villa with grandparents Karin and Stephan awaiting post-mortem results
Emilio Ballack died when the quad bike he was riding at his family’s villa in Portugal shot three feet into the air and fell on him, police say.
Emilio, the 18-year-old son of German football legend Michael, was performing ‘a manoeuvre’ on the bike at 2.07am in the villa’s grounds when the bike tipped back and its front wheels came off the ground.
That caused the bike to shoot three feet up in the air before it came crashing down on the teen, leaving him so badly injured that emergency services had no chance of saving him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
His injuries were said to be so severe that firefighters called to pull him free of the wreck were offered counseling afterwards.
Emilio Ballack, 18 (left in his last Instagram post, right with mother Simone), died at his father’s holiday home in Portugal on Thursday after a quad bike he was riding flipped
Police said Emilio (left, with father Michael right) was performing ‘a manoeuvre’ on the bike shortly after 2am when it shot 3ft up in the air and then landed on him
Emilio, who had recently graduated from Munich International School, was on holiday at the Portuguese villa along with father Michael and his two brothers – eldest Louis, 19, and youngest Jordi, 16.
All three were said to be inside the home when the accident happened, along with Emilio’s grandparents Karin and Stephan.
It was Karin who alerted emergency services to Emilio’s accident, though it is not clear how she found out about the crash.
Emilio was holidaying with his family at a property his dad bought several years ago a short walk from Praia de Troia-Gale beach at the end of the Troia Peninsula.
A narrow line of sand dunes separate the villa in a quiet private residential street, off a public road with security-controlled access close to a new five-star hotel eco-resort, from the beach.
Emilio posted photos of the sun setting over the pristine white sand at the weekend as well as another snap of Comporta Beach Club, a trendy hangout a ten-minute drive from the family holiday home.
His older brother, in an Instagram post late last month showing him sitting on a quad, said of the fun-packed break: ‘Quads were flipped, ferries were missed, new taste buds were explored.’
The Ballacks are understood to have enjoyed a family barbecue on Wednesday evening hours before the tragedy.
Emilio was on a family holiday with his father, two brothers and grandparents at this villa in Portugal when the accident occurred in the early hours of Thursday
Security guards were on patrol at the villa on Friday as the family holed up inside awaiting the results of a post-mortem due later today
Ballack’s mother Karin (right) is said to have alerted the emergency services to the accident. Father Stephan (left) is also thought to have been at the villa
It is not clear where Simone Lambe, Ballack’s ex-wife and mother of his three children, was at the time of the accident.
She typically lives with the children in Lake Starnberg, near Munich, with a new husband who she married in 2019 and is not thought to have been on the holiday.
Last week she uploaded images of herself in St Tropez, in the south of France.
Neither Simone or Michael have issued a statement since news of Emilio’s death broke in Portuguese media on Thursday.
On Friday, security guards were patrolling the private street outside the family’s holiday villa as the tragic youngster’s two brothers and other loved ones holed up inside ahead of the post-mortem, which is due to take place today.
The results will be sent to a court in Setubal a 25-minute ferry ride north of Troia which is co-ordinating an investigation into the early-hours tragedy.
Grief counsellors are understood to be assisting Michael and his family.
Ballack made his name playing for Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in Germany before making a big-money move to Chelsea in 2006.
He spent four years at the Premier League club, scoring 25 goals in the process.
The retired football star joined the Blues in 2006 from Bayern Munich and scored 25 goals during his four years at the Premier League club.
Ballack also played for the German national side, making 98 appearances and scoring 42 goals in the process.
He played during World Cup tournaments in 2002, 2006, and played during qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup but never started a finals game due to injury.
He also played in the Euros in 2000, 2004, and 2008 – playing in the final of the latter tournament, which Germany lost to Spain.
Emilio was the middle of Ballack’s three sons, born to long-term partner Simone Lambe (left and right) whom he married in 2008 after the children had been born and divorced in 2012
On July 25, Emilio’s older brother Louis took to Instagram to post about how ‘quads were flipped’ during downtime with friends in Troia, Portugal
Despite a lengthy career for the national side, he never lifted a major international trophy.
Fire chief Claudio Tome, whose officers based at Grandola near Troia responded to the emergency, said as news of the tragedy emerged: ‘I know the dead man was the son of a well-known footballer but I don’t have details about who it was.
‘The accident happened at the family home. The quad rider wasn’t on a public road and his was the only vehicle involved.
‘The quad was on an uneven piece of land and at this stage it appears to have gone backwards and as it did fell on top of the victim and crushed him.’
Jorge Santos, spokesman for the GNR police force in the city of Setubal , confirmed: ‘An 18-year-old man has died following an accident at a private property in Troia.
‘We received an alert shortly after 2am yesterday morning (THURS).
‘I am not at liberty to go into details about the identity of the dead man.
‘I can confirm he was on the vehicle he had his accident in alone.’
He added: ‘The accident happened at a property on a residential estate called Vilas do Mar in Troia.
‘The incident is now under investigation and there is nothing more we can say.’
Although police and firefighters said the incident happened at a private property, respected Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias said Emilio Ballack was reversing out of the property on his quad when he had his fatal accident.
The paper said he is believed to have lost control of the vehicle during the manoeuvre out of the family villa and ended up on a public road with the quad on top of him after falling.
Former Chelsea captain John Terry and Gary Lineker were among those to pay their tributes.
Ballack’s friend Reiner Calmund told Bild: ‘My thoughts are with Michael and his family. It’s all bitter, bitter, bitter.’
Former Germany team boss Rudi Voller said: ‘The news has shocked me and I am deeply affected. We mourn the boy and feel for Michael and Simone.’
