San Francisco

Australian CEO recovering after being found unconscious in San Francisco streets

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The CEO of an Australian company is in recovery at San Francisco General Hospital after being placed in a medically induced coma.

Colin Bettles, CEO of Grain Producers Australia, was rushed to the hospital after being found unconscious on Market Street. However, it’s not clear how he sustained injuries that landed him in the hospital’s neurological unit.

“He has a deep gash on the back of his head which will require stiches he has a broken left eye socket and bruises on the inside of his arm consistent with being stomped on, so he has obviously been assaulted it’s a terrible situation,” said Michael McCormack, who is a close friend.

After not answering showing up for a flight at San Francisco International Airport, friends and family got worried.

“I thought the worst. I thought we need to find him one way or another,” McCormack said.

Bettles had been staying at Hotel Garrett near the federal building at 7th and Mission in San Francisco and gone to dinner with friends on the Fourth of July, the night he had supposedly gone missing.

Today, Bettles is recovering and now awake from the coma.

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating the incident and said in a statement Thursday that there was no indication Bettles was assaulted or a victim of a crime.

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