Australian Cricketer Andrew Symonds Killed in Car Wreck, Dog Reportedly Refused to Leave His Side

Andrew Symonds/Instagram

Former cricket player Andrew Symonds died at age 46 in a car accident in Australia over the weekend, Cricket Australia announced.

Symonds crashed his vehicle late Saturday night in Hervey Range, a city located in the northern Australian state of Queensland, according to Yahoo Sports.

Witnesses told The Courier Mail that after the crash, one of Symonds' dogs reportedly refused to leave his side and became defensive when they attempted to retrieve him from the vehicle.

"One of them was very sensitive and didn't want to leave him," the witness told the outlet, as noted by Yahoo Sports. "It would just growl at you every time we tried to move him or go near him.

"My partner tried to get [Symonds] out of the car, to put him on to his back," they added.

Another bystander, Waylon Townson, told Australia's 9News that onlookers ran to the scene after hearing the crash.

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"He was stuck in there, so I tried to pull him out," Townson said. "[I] started doing CPR and checked his pulse but I didn't get much response."

Kent Cricket, Symonds' former team, paid tribute to the athlete on social media after news of his death was made public.

"The Club is shocked & saddened to learn of the passing of former overseas star and cult hero, Andrew Symonds," they said in a tweet. "The thoughts of everyone at Kent Cricket are with 'Roy''s family & friends at this desperately sad time."

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Former Kent Captain David Fulton called Symonds "simply, a fantastic teammate."

"He was a brilliant, combative cricketer who could win a game with bat, ball, in the field or with his sheer will to win and presence on the field," Fulton said in a statement on the team's website.

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According to The Guardian, Symonds joined Fox Sports as a commentator after his retirement from cricket in 2012 at age 37.

Symonds also played himself in a Bollywood movie and appeared in the Indian version of Big Brother.

Throughout his career, Symonds participated in 26 Tests and 198 one-day internationals for Australia, the outlet said, all while playing an important part in two World Cup-winning teams in 2003 and 2007.