Toddler who nearly drowned in Beaver out of coma, first responders recall rescue as ‘organized chaos’
May 24, 2024, 10:00 PM | Updated: May 25, 2024, 2:35 pm
Levi Wright, 3, vanished into a creek and was rescued a mile downstream. (Courtesy Wright family)
(Courtesy Wright family)
BEAVER, Utah — A Beaver County boy rescued from a creek earlier this week has come out of his coma.
Three-year-old Levi Wright’s family friend Mindy Clark shared with KSL TV that Levi had woken up but was still on a ventilator and not talking.
“He’s pretty wiggly; his doctor was excited about that!” Clark said via text.
Meanwhile, a first responder who was part of Levi’s rescue recounted that day as “organized chaos” as they searched for the 3-year-old in North Creek in Beaver.
Beaver County Fire Chief Craig Wright was one of the first on scene. He set up the command post while a Utah Highway Patrol trooper, who was among the first to arrive, jumped into the water.
“It’s the call we train for, but it’s the call we dread and hope never happens,” Craig Wright said.
Levi disappeared into the creek after his mom, Kallie Wright, went to check on her 9-month-old baby.
As other agencies arrived, Craig Wright sent crews downstream while other rescuers jumped in to search without hesitation.
“We had several different bridge crossings between (our location and downstream) that we sent responders to, and they started in the river, (then searched) up the river,” he said.
For 25 minutes, Levi’s location was unknown until a call on the radio notified Craig Wright that CPR had begun.
Craig Wright said that Levi was found about a little more than half a mile downstream.
“Probably three to four culverts … upstream from that fourth culverts where they found him,” he said.
Craig Wright said calls to respond to scenes like this can stick with first responders forever, adding that some responders never get over them.
But knowing that Levi is on the road to recovery is something that he said will help them cope.
“That helps them the most, when they know that that their skills and everything they did, you know, mattered and helped save a life,” Craig Wright said.
Read the full story at ksltv.com
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