The 3-year-old son of champion saddle bronco rider Spencer Wright has died nearly two weeks after he fell from a toy tractor into a Utah river, drowned and lost oxygen to his brain, a family friend said.
The toddler was transported by helicopter to Beaver Valley Hospital after the accident in Beaver Creek on May 21, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Family friend Mindy Sue Clark said her son had been in critical condition until the family made the decision Sunday to take him off life support. People Magazine.
“Words cannot express how difficult the last two weeks have been,” Clark, who told Fox News Digital she was a close friend of the boy’s mother, wrote on Facebook on Monday, “from the moment my phone rang the night of the accident, to last night when I got the message that he had to go.”
Rodeo star Spencer Wright’s family wants severely injured 3-year-old taken off breathing tube
Levi Wright and his father, saddle bronc riding champion Spencer Wright. (Kari Wright/Facebook)
The boy’s mother, Callie Wright, said in a separate Facebook post on Sunday that the family ” [their] “After many sleepless nights, lots of research and multiple discussions with the best neurologists in the world, my biggest fear was born.” [and] Millions of prayers.”
“Levi has shown us enough to buy us time for all of this,” she wrote. “We believed he had overcome the difficulties and proved he wanted to stay, but now we see he wanted to let go and give us time to find peace.”
Rodeo star Spencer Wright’s wife shares harrowing update on 3-year-old son Levi after river accident
Three-year-old Levi is with his mother. (Kari Wright/Facebook)
The toddler was swept away by the river as the mother ran inside the house. When she went outside, she found her son’s tractor next to the river and the boy missing. The mother contacted authorities and organized a search party.
The 3-year-old boy’s mother called 911 on May 21 after seeing Levi’s toy tractor upside down in the river with the boy nowhere to be seen. (Kari Wright/Facebook)
In the first few days afterwards, Levi’s prognosis was not good, with Clark writing that “his sweet little brain had been starved of oxygen for too long,” and the family saying, “[felt] His spirit is strong [was] He is no longer with us.”
Shortly after his hospitalization, Levi’s mother said the family [Levi’s] The soul is no longer with us.” (Kari Wright/Facebook)
According to a previous Facebook post, the boy began showing positive signs of brain function last week, briefly opening his eyes and responding to his sister’s voice during an EEG test. The family hoped to remove the boy’s breathing tube pending more encouraging results.
However, the toddler’s mother wrote in a post yesterday that he would soon “climb into bed” [her] “I want to hold my baby in my arms and see him sleep for the last time on earth,” she said, adding, “It’s comforting knowing he will return to the perfect boy he was.”
Rodeo star Spencer Wright’s 3-year-old son hospitalized after falling into Utah River while riding toy tractor
Despite the tragic outcome, both Clark and Levi’s mother were in awe of the community’s response to the boy’s situation.
“Even though it feels like someone ripped my heart out and crushed it right in front of my eyes, I don’t want to focus on the bad or sad things. I want to focus on the many miracles we all witnessed during those 12 days,” Clark posted, referring to the period between the boy’s accident and his death Sunday.
“Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people gathered around our beloved little buddy, offering prayers and wrapping loving arms around Levi and his family,” she said.
Spencer Wright competed at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 5, 2014 in Houston. (Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
In a post before his death, his mother wrote that Levi “brought humanity to an entire nation, brought many to their knees and reminded us what is truly important in this world.”
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.
The family was the subject of a book called “The Last Cowboys” and was featured in an episode of “60 Minutes.”
Spencer Wright, 33, is ranked 40th in the world in saddle bronc riding. (Stacey Scott/Deseret News via The Associated Press)
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Earlier this year, Wright won first place at the Rio Grande Livestock Show and Rodeo. Mercedes, Texas.
