Catherine Rusoff
Rodeo star Spencer Wright and his wife are preparing for the end of their 3-year-old son’s life after he was found unconscious in a creek, a close family friend said in updates posted on social media and confirmed to the news affiliate. CBS KUTV. The boy was playing on his tractor before falling into the water a mile down the river.
On a interview with KUTVMindy Clark, a friend of the Wright family, said that Spencer Wright’s wife, Kallie Wright, had rushed to the family home in Beaver County, Utah, for just a moment, and that when she returned, her son Levi, who had just turning 3 in March, he left.
“[Kallie] saw his little tractor roll over and immediately called 9-1-1 and jumped into the water to find him,” Clark said, adding that the family lives near a dry canal, where water often flows after heavy rainfall. Wrights often stop by in their truck, she said.
Levi was later found unconscious in the water, about a kilometer away.
“We don’t know how long it was in the water, but it was carried in several places,” Clark said.
While the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office did not release the child’s name, they said in a news release Tuesday that they received a call from “a child who drove his tractor into the water.” Police said the person who reported the incident said the child drove his toy tractor into a river and lost visual contact with them. Emergency crews were able to quickly locate him, the sheriff’s department said, and he eventually being airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital, where Clark confirmed Levi was taken.
In an update shared by Clark on Facebook on Wednesday, Kalle and Spencer said that Levi’s heart was beating on its own and that he wanted to breathe, but that the situation was critical.
“Your sweet brain has been without oxygen for too long and there is no going back,” according to the statement. “We hugged him all night and felt strongly that his spirit is no longer with us. We can’t be selfish and drag this out for days, he doesn’t deserve this.”
They said they would stop care “soon” in that update and “hold him close until his last breath on earth.” But then, a few hours later, when doctors entered the room to end Levi’s care, they suddenly said there might be hope.
“Our doctor was a little surprised by the exam when they entered the room to end the care. She felt strongly that we needed to give him more time,” the family said. “Now, this doesn’t mean that in 12 hours we won’t be back in the same position with him in my arms preparing to say goodbye, but it does mean we have time for a miracle. my boy still.”
In the last update, at around 9:30 pm local time, the family said that Levi had not undergone many changes, but that there had been “several small miracles” that surprised doctors. As of this update, the hospital was monitoring his brain for any activity and began antibiotic treatment. They also plan to have an MRI on Friday or Saturday.
“He was more welcoming than anyone thought he would be,” Clark told KUTV. “He responded to light touch.”
Spencer Wright, 33, is ranked 40th in the world in saddle bronc riding. He helped make Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association history in 2014 when he and three of his brothers qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo – and he, the youngest of the litter, won the world championship. He and Kallie have three children together, including a baby born last August.
