Current:Home > MarketsLevi Wright, 3-year-old son of rodeo star Spencer Wright, taken off life support 2 weeks after toy tractor accident -ProgressCapital
Levi Wright, 3-year-old son of rodeo star Spencer Wright, taken off life support 2 weeks after toy tractor accident
FinLogic FinLogic Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-08 05:46:10
Levi Wright, the 3-year-old son of rodeo star Spencer Wright, has died. In a statement posted on Facebook, a close family friend said the Wrights took Levi off of life support on Sunday, two weeks after the child rode his toy tractor near a waterway and was found unconscious in water a mile from home.
Late last month, Levi – who just turned 3 in March – was playing at the family's home in Beaver County, Utah. His mom, Kallie Wright, ran inside their home for just a moment, and when she came back out, her son was gone, according to close family friend Mindy Clark. She saw his toy tractor that he had been playing on overturned and immediately called 911 as she searched for him, Clark said.
He was later found unconscious in water a mile away.
The family was holding onto hope after experiencing what they said were small miracles over the past two weeks, but on Sunday, Kallie Wright wrote on Facebook that they were at "the face of our biggest fear."
"Levi showed us just enough to buy us time for all of this. We prayed those things were him defying odds & proving to us that he wanted to stay here but we see now he wanted to give us time to find peace with letting him go," she wrote. "...Here soon I'll climb into bed with my baby and hold him as he falls asleep for the last time on this earth. I find comfort in knowing he will be restored to the perfect little boy he was & have the ability to do all the things he loves."
Along with a video of her and her son, Kallie Wright said the family believed "this is the best thing we can do for him" after conducting research and speaking with the "world's best neurologists."
In a separate post on Monday, Clark said the ordeal "feels like someone ripped my heart out and squeezed it right in front of me."
"I cannot even begin to explain how hard the last two weeks have been. From the moment my phone rang the night of his accident, to last night receiving the message that he had to go," she said, adding that she doesn't want to focus on the "bad or sad." "I want to focus on the many miracles we got to bear witness to," she said.
"The most perfect three year old there ever was. So perfect we didn't get to keep him," she said. "This baby boy moved mountains the last 12 days. He brought so many people together. In a world so dark, we got to see light at the hands of a child. He's everything his mom and dad could've wanted him to be," she said. "I am so thankful for all the time I got to be his 'aunt Mindy'. That is a blessing I will never be able to top."
The accident occurred on May 21, when the Beaver County Sheriff's Office said it responded to a call that a child had driven their tractor into the water. Police said "life saving measures were administered on scene" before the child was taken to the hospital and eventually airlifted to Primary Children's Hospital.
A couple days prior to Levi being taken off of life support, Kallie Wright wrote in a Facebook update that doctors had tried to take the 3-year-old out of sedation, but "he did not handle it." They conducted another 24-hour electroencephalogram (EEG) – a test to measure brain activity – as well as another MRI as part of an effort in "checking and double checking all we can," she said.
"They are keeping Levi comfortable," she said, adding that he was placed back under heavy sedation.
Levi is one of three children between Kallie Wright and Spencer Wright, who is ranked No. 40 in the world in saddle bronc riding.
- In:
- Utah
- Drowning
Li Cohen is a senior social media producer at CBS News. She previously wrote for amNewYork and The Seminole Tribune. She mainly covers climate, environmental and weather news.
TwitterveryGood! (6)
Related
- Video shows dog chewing cellphone battery pack, igniting fire in Oklahoma home
- Hilary Swank shares twins' names for first time on Valentine’s Day: 'My two little loves'
- Montana Rep. Rosendale drops US Senate bid after 6 days, citing Trump endorsement of opponent
- On Valentine’s Day, LGBTQ+ activists in Japan call for the right for same-sex couples to marry
- How breaking emerged from battles in the burning Bronx to the Paris Olympics stage
- The Excerpt podcast: At least 21 shot after Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade
- Ex-Illinois lawmaker abruptly pleads guilty to fraud and money laundering, halting federal trial
- FBI informant charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden’s ties to Ukrainian energy company
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- The Voice Alum Cassadee Pope Reveals She's Leaving Country Music
Ranking
- How effective is the Hyundai, Kia anti-theft software? New study offers insights.
- Kansas City mass shooting is the 50th so far this year, gun violence awareness group says
- Biden administration looks to expand student loan forgiveness to those facing ‘hardship’
- GMA3's T.J. Holmes Reveals When He First Knew He Loved Amy Robach
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Florida deputy mistakes falling acorn for gunshot, fires into patrol car with Black man inside
- Endangered right whale floating dead off Georgia is rare species’ second fatality since January
- Special counsel urges Supreme Court to deny Trump's bid to halt decision rejecting immunity claim in 2020 election case
Recommendation
Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
Gun rights are expansive in Missouri, where shooting at Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade took place
Hamas recruiter tells CBS News that Israel's actions in Gaza are fueling a West Bank recruiting boom
What's the best restaurant near you? Check out USA TODAY's 2024 Restaurants of the Year.
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
Gwen Stefani receives massive emerald ring for Valentine's Day from Blake Shelton
Zendaya’s Futuristic Dune: Part Two Premiere Look Has a NSFW Surprise
Authorities are investigating the death of Foremost Group CEO Angela Chao in rural Texas