Levi Wright’s grieving mother said the decision to leave the toddler unsupervised before his tragic drowning last month will “haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“In that moment he was my responsibility alone,” Kallie Wright, wife of rodeo star Spencer Wright, wrote on Facebook Thursday, breaking her silence for the first time since the couple took the 3-year-old tot off life support over the weekend.
In the heartbreaking post — written at 3 a.m. — Kallie Wright shared new details about the moments before little Levi drove his toy tractor into a creek behind the family’s Utah home on May 21.
The small waterway divides the Wright’s property from Levi’s grandparents, she explained, adding that a concrete road runs through it and is accessible during the drier months.
Wright even shared a video of Levi, along with sister Steeley and their dad — each on horseback — crossing the shallow stream.
“It’s how we’ve gotten to their house safely most days as sometimes our dirt road is a nascar raceway. My kids have rode their bikes, driven their ride on toys & even walked this way a million times. Water only runs through for a short time during the year and can change over night,” Wright wrote.
“Levi did not do anything he hasn’t done before, but this time the water was at its peak & strong enough to push his tractor off the road into the creek as he drove through.”
On that fateful day, Wright admits she gave Levi permission to ride his tractor on the family’s 24-acre property, but she gave a warning to stay away from the creek.
The toddler’s grandmother wasn’t home, she told the boy, and asked that he only ride around the house.
“As he drove off, I ran back in the house. That’s a decision that will haunt me for the rest of my life,” the devastated mother wrote.
“Whether I went back to check on my sleeping baby, swap the laundry, wash a bottle or put away lunch, I honestly don’t know. Whatever it was, wasn’t more important than following him that day.
“Although I’m a firm believer that our stories are written long before we reach this earth & that our Lord will take us when he’s ready, I will lose sleep over this for eternity.”
Little Levi vanished beneath the fast-moving currents and was dragged about a mile down the river, though rescuers are unsure how long he had been submerged.
The bubbly toddler was not expected to survive but showed some promising signs early on despite being declared brain dead — and even woke up in his hospital bed, giving his family hope.
Multiple tests and MRI scans, however, proved that the boy was not improving, and his family made the tough decision Sunday to take him off life support.
Although wracked with guilt, Kallie Wright shared the “vulnerable and hard” story with her followers and pushed back against online attacks aimed at her family.
“I know 3 things to be true,” Wright wrote.
“1. I am not a perfect mom but I am a good mom. 2. My little boy loved me with all he had. 3. Never say never because it only takes seconds and it can happen to you too.
“I pray anyone who judges me or has hurtful words to say never finds themself on the receiving end of a nightmare like this.”
Spencer Wright, 33, was ranked 35th in the world in 2023 by ProRodeo.
He comes from a long line of famous cowboys — including his father, ProRodeo Hall of Famer Bill Wright.