Utah
Utah family praying for recovery after son's near-drowning in creek
SALT LAKE CITY — A central Utah family is hoping for a miracle for their little boy who disappeared into a creek and was rescued a mile downstream in Beaver County.
Three-year-old Levi Wright is hospitalized at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City after being found in the water unresponsive.
Little Levi is a precious little cowboy to his family.
Levi Wright, 3, vanished into a creek and was rescued a mile downstream. (Courtesy Wright family)
“He is everything a 3-year-old boy should be,” family friend Mindy Clark said. “He’s obsessed with the T-Rexes. He loves root beer … He loves tractors,” she said during a Zoom interview with KSL TV Wednesday.
Clark said her best friend and Levi’s mom, Kallie Wright, was watching her son play on his tractor Tuesday outside the family’s home when she ran inside for a minute to check on her 9-month-old baby.
That split-second, Mindy explained, was all it took for Levi to end up in the creek on the edge of the property that he normally stays away from.
“By the time she had turned around and come back, he was gone. And, you know, little kids, they’re fast,” Clark said.
Kallie and Spencer Wright with their son Levi in a hospital. (Courtesy Wright family)
She said because of spring runoff, the creek is running higher and with a heavier flow than normal.
“She had seen his tractor overturned and immediately dialed 911, and hopped in the water and started looking for him,” Clark explained.
The frantic search that included first responders led to finding Levi. Clark said he was about a mile downstream when he was pulled out of the water.
She said they started performing life-saving measures before Levi was flown by medical helicopter to Primary Children’s.
At first, Clark said the family was planning end-of-care, thinking Levi wouldn’t make it.
“Oh, every emotion,” Clark said, pausing as tears welled up in her eyes. “There’s nothing in life that prepares a parent for this.”
But on Wednesday morning, she said Levi was more responsive than doctors anticipated and they wanted to give him more time. Clark drove up from Arizona Wednesday to be with the family.
Levi’s dad, Spencer Wright, is well-known in the rodeo world as a professional saddle bronc rider. Many people across the country in that community are organizing fundraisers and events for the family.
As mom and dad hope their cowboy can make it through, Clark said everyone’s prayers are helping them stay strong and positive.
“Just waiting for that that glimmer of hope,” she said, “that the miracle is going to happen.”
A Utah physician is warning that 21 data centers in various stages of development could significantly worsen air quality along the Wasatch Front.
Dr. Brian Moench, with Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, said the planned data centers are cause for alarm. Each facility is expected to generate its own electricity using natural gas power plants.
While natural gas is cleaner than coal, Moench said it still produces nitrogen oxide, which contributes significantly to ozone, particulate formation, and smog.
“There’s no safe level of air pollution. All of it is harmful, even at the very lowest doses,” Moench said.
Moench said health advocates have legitimate reasons to be concerned about what the facilities could mean for public health in the region.
“There is a real legitimate concern on the part of any health advocates about what this impact will mean to the Wasatch Front and public health if all these data centers are built or even if just a few of them are, and that’s not to address the impact on the Great Salt Lake shrinking up and becoming a toxic dust bowl. That’s the next leg of this argument,” he said.
Moench also raised concerns about electronic waste. As computer chips and equipment become obsolete and are replaced, he said the volume of e-waste produced is something no one has yet addressed.
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UTAH COUNTY, May 11, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — Two males, ages 14 and 19, were transported to area hospitals Sunday after the side-by-side they were riding rolled down the side of a mountain.
Utah County Sheriff deputies and Santaquin police responded to the 6:07 p.m. call. Two medical helicopters were called to the scene, in the Pole Canyon area, as was a Department of Public Safety helicopter with a hoist in case it was needed, Sgt. Austin Edwards, Utah County Sheriff‘s Office, told Gephardt Daily.
“Eventually, rescue workers were able to make it to the spot on the hill where the vehicle had come to rest, and they were able to secure the victims, stabilize the victims, and get them back down the hill again to where the helicopters were waiting,” Edwards said.
“The 19-year-old male was transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, and the 14 year old was transported to Primary Children’s in Lehi.”
Both were said to have critical injuries, which were not considered to be life threatening, Edwards said.
“The cause of the rollover is still under investigation, so we don’t have that information available just yet.”
Photos: Utah County Sheriff
In what has a chance to be one of the most important nights in Jazz history, the Utah Jazz jumped in the NBA Lottery to the #2 spot for the upcoming NBA draft.
Here are the final results, which show all the movement.
Aside from it being a massive night for the Wizards, Jazz, Grizzlies, and Bulls, it was a devastating night for a few teams, but no one more than the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers, in their trade for Ivica Zubac, had a stipulation on their pick that if the pick was top-4 they kept it. But if it fell below 4, they would give it to the Clippers which is exactly what happened. Now, the Clippers, who are without Zubac, find themselves with a #5 pick to build around.
For the Jazz this is a culmination of four years of rebuilding that ends with an extremely satisfying end. Utah will now have one of the tier-1 players from this draft: AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson. The player Utah drafts will be one of their cornerstone pieces and will have the chance to not only play, but be a part of a team that will be competing for the playoffs this season.
The Utah Jazz now have a Sinister Six core: Darryn Peterson (If AJ Dybantsa goes #1), Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler (if he signs). It’s quite the core with a mix of youth and veterans in their prime. With this group, the Jazz will have a chance to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Yes, the Thunder and Spurs are going to be difficult to beat, but Utah has the mix of talent, coaching, and depth that could absolutely do the trick.
Now the Utah Jazz look forward to the NBA Draft that be on June 23rd. Let the posturing begin!!
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