On a Saturday morning when most teens were still in bed, 16-year-old Wyatt Frist was eager to leave his house to go to work.
Frist, then 16, left home on Grandview Road at about 8:30 a.m. March 20 to do a mulch spreading job with G. Wagler Landscaping.
“He was excited, which is hard to believe that a kid was excited to get a job,” said his father, Robert Frist.
He had been hired at the Salt Creek Course and was to start there soon, but his father said Wyatt wanted more. He was offered another job with G. Wagler Landscaping, “which he gladly accepted,” Robert said.
Wyatt did not make it to his first day on the job. He crashed his 1985 GM truck less than two miles from his home on Grandview Road.
He overcorrected as he was coming off a curve and his truck hit a tree head-on. He was unconscious when EMS and police arrived on scene, according to an accident report by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Bowling.
The report noted unsafe speed, overcorrecting and running off the road as contributing circumstances to the crash.
Wyatt was not wearing a seat belt and had a severe head injury. He was flown from the scene in a medical helicopter to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital.
More than two weeks later, he is still in the intensive care unit.
Robert said Wyatt’s jaw was broken in three places. Doctors put plates in to fix two of the broken spots. To the heal the other, his jaw has to be banded shut.
Wyatt’s left elbow and shin bone below the knee were both broken. His right wrist and ankle were also broken. There is also unknown brain damage, Robert said.
Family friends, Brian and Jerrica Shrader, have organized a drive-thru dinner fundraiser on Saturday, April 17 to help Wyatt and his family during this difficult time. The dinner will be from 4 to 7 p.m. at Parkview Church of the Nazarene.
“We wanted to organize this fundraiser because we both love this community, especially the outpouring of support for those in need,” Jerrica said.
“Wyatt is a great kid who has his whole life ahead of him. He has a heart of gold and he needs the community’s support at this time. We are fortunate enough to be able to facilitate this fundraiser and we truly believe if we were in need, someone would do the same for us.”
Robert describes his son as a “kind, caring young man.” He turned 17 on March 29 in the ICU.
“Jerrica and Brian are awesome people. We consider them as family,” Robert said.
“To think, they both have full-time jobs and three young kids at home, yet are so willing to do this. It’s humbling to me.”
Wyatt is a student at Brown County High School. He played on the boys golf team. Every chance he gets, he’s outside.
Fishing is his passion. He built a boat with the help of his neighbor, Fred, and takes it around to neighborhood ponds to fish, Robert said.
Wyatt also loves to camp, fish, hunt, trap, trap shoot, and ride horses and all-terrain vehicles. He also can cook a mean fried chicken, Robert said.
Robert and Wyatt enjoy being active in the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association out of Friendship, Indiana, where they do black powder shooting together.
Wyatt’s parents drive to Methodist every day to be with their son. Robert said he has not left his son’s side since the accident happened. He asked for a personal leave of absence from work and says he will not return to work until his son is healed and back home with him.
Wyatt has a sister, Ashley, and two brothers Jacob and Dyllon.
As Wyatt progresses, he will be transferred to Riley Hospital for Children. There, he will go through mental and physical rehabilitation programs.
Robert said the biggest way his community can help is by praying for Wyatt.
“Him healing is what’s really needed. Everything else will work out,” Robert said.
He wanted to thank Jerrica, Brian and everyone helping with the upcoming drive-thru dinner fundraiser. And he wants to thank everyone for the prayers so far as he lives through a parent’s worst fear.
“Wyatt wouldn’t be where he’s at without them. I truly believe that,” Robert said about prayers.
“As a parent, this has been a nightmare. It reassures the fact we don’t know how many days we have on this earth, nor how many we have with family, friends and loved ones.
“Make that call if nothing else but to say, ‘Hi, how are you?’ Tell them you love them when you go to hang up the phone or go separate ways. We may not have another opportunity.”
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On April 17, a drive-thru dinner fundraiser will happen at Parkview Church of the Nazarene, 1750 State Road 46 East, from 4 to 7 p.m. This is a donation-only dinner with 100-percent of the donations going to Wyatt’s family. The dinner box includes a pulled pork sandwich, coleslaw, baked beans, chips and cookie.
An online auction will also happen on Facebook beginning Friday, April 9. Items from that auction will be available for pick up at the drive-thru dinner benefit. The Facebook auction can be found here.
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