The 3-year-old son of rodeo star Spencer Wright and his wife, Callie, is in critical condition after driving a toy tractor into the Utah River.
Mindy Clark, a friend of the Wright family who posted updates on social media and also spoke to KUTV, said the boy’s mother ran into the Wright family’s Beaver County home briefly on Tuesday.
When she returned outside, 3-year-old Levi was nowhere to be found. After a frantic search, he was found unconscious in the water about a mile downstream, a spokesperson for his family told reporters.
“[Kallie] Clark said she saw the mini tractor flip over, called 9-1-1 immediately, then jumped into the water to find him, and then “got in the car and got out of …
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Spencer Wright, 33, is ranked 40th in the world for saddle bronc riding. Wright’s 3-year-old son, Levi, was riding a tractor when it fell into the Utah River. (Stacey Scott/Deseret News via The Associated Press)
The Beaver County Sheriff’s Office did not release the boy’s name, but said in a statement that around 6 p.m. that day, they received a call about a boy who had fallen from a toy tractor into the river.
After “life-saving measures were administered at the scene,” Levi was taken by ambulance to Beaver Valley Hospital and then airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital, the office wrote in a Facebook post.
According to an update Clark shared on Facebook, the toddler was able to breathe on his own and maintain a heartbeat by Wednesday.
“His cute little brain has been without oxygen for too long and there’s no coming back from that,” Clark said. “We held him all night, but we felt strongly that his soul was no longer with us. We cannot be selfish and drag this situation out for days. He doesn’t deserve it.”
Clark added that the family plans to “hold him close until his last breath on earth.”
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Spencer Wright competed at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 5, 2014. (Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
But hours after that post, doctors told the family there may be hope for the boy, Clark said in another update.
“When the doctor came into the room to finish the treatment, he was a little surprised to see our daughter. He felt strongly that she needed to be given more time,” the family said. “It doesn’t mean that in 12 hours you can’t be back to holding her son in your arms and preparing to say goodbye, but it does mean there’s time for a miracle to happen. Don’t give up on her son just yet.”
According to an update on the boy’s condition on May 22, shared by his mother, Callie, on Clark’s page, Levi will undergo an MRI and EEG later this week to monitor his brain activity.
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Spencer Wright competed at the World’s Original Indoor Rodeo on January 31, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Ron T. Ennis/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“We are incredibly touched by the love and prayers we have received. All forms of support pouring in to us are unreal. We miss our other babies. My mother has never spent one night with a baby until now. We have never been apart, but Bray and Steely are in the best hands!” Curry said of her other two children.
The toddler’s father, 33-year-old Spencer Wright, is a world-ranked saddle bronc rider ranked 40th. He and his three brothers made history in 2014 when all four qualified to compete in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which Wright ultimately won.
Stetson Wright, Jesse Wright, Ryder Wright, Rusty Wright, Spencer Wright and Cody Wright pose onstage during the “Outside the Barrel” show with Flint Rasmussen during Cowboy Christmas at the 2019 National Finals Rodeo. (Mindy Small/FilmMagic)
The family was the subject of a book called “The Last Cowboys” and was featured on an episode of “60 Minutes.”
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Wright won first place at the Rio Grande Livestock Show and Rodeo in Mercedes, Texas, earlier this year.
