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AFL coach Brett Ratten has written a heartbreaking letter to his 16-year-old son who was killed in a car crash on Sunday morning.
“We love you so much and we will miss you forever,” Ratten wrote in the note, which was published in today’s Herald Sun.
“You will be with us every minute of every day. You had so much potential and ability in the things you set your mind to. You have been taken way too soon and we will miss your smile, your laugh and all your cheekiness.
“These memories will last forever. I wish I could kiss you, hug you and hold you tight. I love you, my son. We love you so much always and forever.”
Brett Ratten
Ratten’s son, Cooper, died at 3am on Sunday morning when the car he was travelling in ran off the road in the Victorian town of Yarra Glen.
Cooper was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle. He died in an ambulance en route to hospital.
Police believe the vehicle was travelling at speeds in excess of 100km/h at the time of the crash and that the driver was an L-plater who shouldn’t have been driving without the presence of an adult supervisor.
“Speed is an obvious factor in this collision. Investigators are looking at other factors including that the vehicle may be stolen, that the possibility of drugs and or alcohol,” Detective Sargent Dave Yeoman confirmed.
“There are just no winners here. There was a lot of speed involved here. We’ve got three young men maybe getting into a stolen car and we’ve got tragic circumstances. We’ve got families grieving.”
The driver and the other passenger – both 17 – survived the crash.
Ratten is the assistant coach for Hawthorn and previously held the top job at Carlton. He also played 215 games for Carlton in 1990s.
