Colin Bettles: Grain Producers Australia boss breaks his silence as he prepares to return home after he was seriously injured on a San Francisco s heading work trip

An Australian businessman near fighting for life successful nan US during a activity travel is looking guardant to a pepperoni pizza aft he was yet fixed nan each clear to alert home.

Grain Producers Australia (GPA) CEO Colin Bettles will return to Australia connected Sunday aft spending 2 weeks successful a San Francisco hospital. 

Mr Bettles, who antecedently served arsenic a media advisor to erstwhile lawman premier curate Michael McCormack, was recovered earnestly injured and unconscious while connected a solo activity travel connected July 4.

He was recovered pinch superior caput and oculus socket injuries and was rushed to the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Centre, wherever he spent 5 days successful an induced coma.

After being discharged past week, Mr Bettles booked a return formation to Sydney, telling The West Australian that he 'can't hold to get home'.

He thanked the 'fantastic' infirmary unit and his 'amazing' family and friends for their support and said that he is now 'slowly connected nan mend'. 

He added that he could not callback overmuch of what happened nan nighttime he was retired walking. 

'I don't person a very bully representation of anything, I perfectly don’t retrieve nan incident ... each I person connected my telephone is simply a image of a bully pepperoni pizza [from beforehand], successful that benignant of area,' Mr Bettles told nan publication.

Mr Bettles' friends primitively claimed he had been beaten and mugged while returning to his edifice connected ft precocious astatine night. 

But officers from San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) who are investigating nan incident 'diligently' precocious revealed they hadn't not recovered immoderate grounds of a crime.

'SFPD reviewed surveillance video from nan segment and recovered nary denotation that Bettles was assaulted aliases nan unfortunate of a crime. He was successful possession of his spot astatine nan hospital,' a connection supplied to nan publication read. 

 After friends and colleagues successful Australia learned that Mr Bettles had been placed into an induced coma, nan chair of nan GPA board, Barry Large, sent his champion wishes.

'There has been a important magnitude of group successful interaction pinch america pursuing news of Colin’s injuries and it shows conscionable really overmuch group respect and attraction for him,' Mr Large said.

'And rightly so, Colin is simply a awesome personification and we dream this connection provides immoderate comfort.

'We will proceed to support Colin and his family passim his betterment and dream that he’s capable to return to Australia soon.'

Mr Bettles' partner, who useful successful location Australia pinch constricted telephone reception, only noticed thing was amiss erstwhile he didn't committee a level to New York.  

She reportedly contacted Mr Bettles' friend of 15 years and erstwhile employer, Nationals MP McCormack, who raised nan siren pinch nan Department of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

US authorities past tracked Mr Bettles down to his infirmary furniture wherever he was successful intensive attraction for 5 days.

It's understood that Mr Bettles was travelling by himself but conducting business successful his capacity arsenic GPA main executive.