Rodeo star Spencer Wright's 3-year-old son hospitalized after falling into Utah River on toy tractor
The 3-year-old son of rodeo star Spencer Wright and his wife, Kallie, is in critical condition after the boy drove into the Utah River on his toy tractor.
Wright family friend Mindy Clark, who has been posting updates via social media and spoke to KUTV, said the boy's mother ran inside the family's Beaver County home for just a moment on Tuesday.
When she came back outside, 3-year-old Levi was nowhere to be found. After a frantic search, he was recovered unconscious in the water about a mile downstream, the family spokesperson told the outlet.
"[Kallie] saw his little tractor overturned and immediately dialed 9-1-1 and jumped into the water to find him," Clark told the outlet. "We don't know how long he had been in the water, but he had been carried quite a ways."
Although they didn't disclose the child's name, the Beaver County Sheriff's Office wrote in a statement that they received a call about a boy who had fallen into the river off a toy tractor around 6 p.m. that day.
After "life-saving measures were administered on scene," Levi was transported via ambulance to Beaver Valley Hospital, then airlifted to Primary Children's Hospital, the office wrote in their Facebook post.
The toddler was able to breathe and maintain his heartbeat on his own on Wednesday, according to an update shared by Clark on Facebook.
"His sweet little brain was without oxygen too long and there is no coming back from that," Clark said. "We cuddled him all night and feel strongly that his spirit is no longer with us. We can't be selfish and drag this out for days, he doesn't deserve that."
Clark added that the family had plans to "hold him close until his last breath on earth."
But hours after that post, doctors told the family that there may be hope for the boy, Clark said in another update.
"Our doctor was a little taken aback by her exam as they came in the room to end 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 right back in the same position with him in my arms preparing for goodbye but it does mean we have time for a miracle.... Don't give up on my boy just yet."
Per the latest update on the boy's condition on May 22, shared on Clark's page from mother Kallie, Levi is getting an MRI and an EEG to monitor for any brain activity later this week.
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"We are unbelievably humbled by the love and prayers we have received, the help in all forms that is flooding our way is surreal. We miss our other babies, Mom hasn't spent a night away from baby until now but Brae and Steeley are in the best hands!" Kallie said through Clark, referring to their other two children.
The toddler's father, 33-year-old Spencer Wright, is ranked No. 40 in the world in saddle bronc riding. He and his three brothers made history in 2014 when all four qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Wright ultimately won the championship.
The family was the subject of the book "The Last Cowboys" and has been featured on an episode of "60 Minutes."
Earlier this year, Wright won the Rio Grande Livestock Show and Rodeo in Mercedes, Texas.