• Incident an 'unwelcome distraction', say Swans
• Club says Franklin did not suffer a seizure
LANCE Franklin was left shaken and devastated by the car accident on Wednesday night that has once again thrust the controversial Swan back into the spotlight.
Police booked Franklin for negligent driving after a five-car collision in the exclusive Sydney suburb of Rose Bay.
Franklin clipped a parked car just after 7pm on Wednesday night, forcing the airbags in his Jeep to deploy as he then careered into more cars parked on the side of the road.
Sheepish Franklin admits car crash 'not the best look'
The 27-year-old fronted a packed press conference on Thursday morning to briefly answer questions about the incident, where he expressed his shock and remorse, as well as his relief no one was hurt.
The scene in Sydney after Wednesday night's five-car accident. Picture: Craig McDonald
"Obviously shock," he said when asked of his initial reaction. "Anyone that's in an accident, the immediate reaction is just shock and a little bit shaky too.
"I was devastated and just so thankful that no one else was in the car with me and no one was in the car next to me."
Franklin and the Swans have been forced to deal with a series of headlines since his nine-year, $10 million move to Sydney and he conceded it was frustrating to be back in the spotlight once more.
"Obviously there's frustration, more for myself than anyone, this is something no one wants to go through," he said.
"An accident is an accident, but I don't want to see myself in the spotlight again and obviously I've found myself in it again.
"I just want to move forward as quickly as possible and get onto this week's game."
NSW police confirmed on Thursday morning that Franklin had been handed a traffic infringement notice for negligent driving, which comes with a $405 fine.
Damaged cars line the street in the aftermath of Franklin's crash. Picture: Craig McDonald
Franklin has barely been out of the headlines since he and the Swans stunned the football world with an unprecedented deal to move to Sydney.
Last month, teammate and good friend Dan Hannebery was involved in a car accident driving Franklin's Mercedes.
There have also been rumours of in-fighting and unrest since Franklin's move, which coincided with a poor start to the year on-field for the highly-rated club.
Swans coach John Longmire admitted this latest episode was an unwelcome distraction, but said the club was satisfied with Franklin's version of events and wouldn’t be taking any further action.
"Clearly you'd prefer it didn't happen," Longmire said.
"As Lance mentioned, fortunately he wasn't injured and no one else was injured.
"That's the most important thing to come out of this, that no one was hurt.
"The club has spoken to Lance and that's what he said happened and the police spoke to him for half an hour after the incident and they're satisfied with what Lance said as well.
"We get into football mode now."
More damage after the Rose Bay crash caused by the Swans star. Picture: Craig McDonald
Franklin was driving his girlfriend Jesinta Campbell's vehicle, which copped significant damage in the accident and had to be towed, something Franklin was quizzed about during his three-minute press conference.
"That's the last thing on her mind at the moment," he said. "It was more about me and how I felt from the accident.
"No one wants to be in an accident and be injured, let alone me, but someone else being injured too.
"Fortunately enough I wasn't injured and no one else was too.
"That's a good thing that came out of it."
As reported by AFL.com.au on Wednesday night, Franklin was given a roadside breath test after the accident that returned negative.
Franklin stressed it was just an unfortunate accident and no other factors were involved.
"I didn't see the car on the left-hand side of the road, it was just an accident, accidents do happen and that's pretty much it," he said.
"I wasn't texting, I wasn't speeding, it was just an accident.
"I'm so glad no one was hurt and for the people's cars that were hit, we can get them fixed up as soon as possible and move on."
The Swans’ playing group was addressed when it arrived at the club on Thursday morning, before attention quickly turned to Saturday's game against Melbourne at the MCG.
Franklin kicked four second-half goals in last week's impressive victory over Fremantle that got the Swans' season back on track and Longmire is confident the key forward can put this incident aside.
"Yeah he can," Longmire said. "Ultimately he's here to play football.
"It was a really unfortunate thing that happened last night, but we're here to prepare today and prepare for Melbourne this week."
Franklin suffered a suspected seizure and was taken to hospital back in January and Longmire was asked if that had been a factor in the accident.
"No," he said. "He had an accident. Unfortunately he clipped a car and his air bag went off.
"That's what he told us and he spoke to the police for quite a while after the incident last night and they were more than happy that's what happened."
As Paul Roos prepares to coach against his former club for the first time, he backed Longmire to deal with the distraction of Buddy's latest drama.
"All I can say, we've got a great sponsor, AHG, if Buddy needs a new car, we're happy to sort it out," Roos joked.
"John's been around for a fair while, I think he'll handle it no problems," he said.
Twitter: @AFL_JD
