A British dad of three has tragically died after being hit on the head by a vodka bottle, while on a stag do in Prague.
David ‘Dai’ Richards, 31, from Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, died in a hospital in the Czech capital on September 21 from head injuries, following the incident the night before.
His family described it as a “blind attack” and said the provisional cause of death had been given as blunt force trauma.
“It wasn’t a fight like what I think some people are thinking – it was a blind attack,” they said.
“From the attack, he actually passed away from blunt force trauma. David was talking to locals in the street when he took a blow to the back of the head.”
A French passer-by administered first aid at the scene before an ambulance rushed the victim to hospital.
Family members flew to Prague to be with Mr Richards, hoping that he would pull through. Tragically, doctors decided to turn off his life support machine on Saturday afternoon.
Mr Richards leaves behind his partner Jola Simms and his three young children – four-year-old Aurora, two-year-old Bear and one-year-old Vienna.
His family paid a moving tribute to him, calling him an “absolutely amazing father, partner, son, brother, and friend”, who was the “glue of the family”.
They said he had just returned from a family holiday on Thursday last week, before heading off early on Friday morning to Prague to celebrate the stag do of a close friend.
At 10pm that evening, his cousin Gemma Thomas and his partner Jola received a call from his friend Nathan informing them of the terrible incident.
Nathan told them that Mr Richards’ condition was critical and that the family needed to fly out to Prague as quickly as possible, according to Wales Online.
In an emotional statement, his family said: “We would describe David as having the heart of a lion. He was an extremely family-orientated person.
“He was the fun one – he always brought the energy. We described him as the glue to the family. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family.
“He was an absolutely amazing father, partner, son, brother, and friend. There isn’t a bad word to be said about him.”
Local media in the Czech Republic are reporting that a 26-year-old man, who was also a tourist, was arrested outside a hotel following the incident.
The publication Prague Morning on Tuesday quoted police spokesman Jan Daněk as saying the men were part of two separate groups who had got into an argument.
“One individual struck another in the head with a vodka bottle,” he said. “The impact was so severe that the victim collapsed immediately and tragically died in the hospital.
“The 26-year-old man is now facing charges of grievous bodily harm and disorderly conduct. If convicted he could be sentenced to up to 16 years in prison.”
