A family friend shared that Levi Wright, the 3-year-old son of rodeo star Spencer Wright, died almost two weeks after he rode his toy tractor into a Utah river. Family friend Mindy Sue Clark told People Magazine that the young boy, who was hospitalized in critical condition after the accident, died after his family made the heartbreaking choice to take him off life support. She told People, “Levi was the absolute best little boy. It’s going to be tough navigating life without him.”

She shared the news of the tragic loss in a social media post, writing that it felt like “someone ripped my heart out and squeezed it right in front of me.” She wrote, “I don’t want to focus on the bad or sad, even though it feels like someone ripped my heart out and squeezed it right in front of me. I want to focus on the many miracles we all got to bear witness to in those 12 days. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people surrounded our best little buddy, lifted him in prayer, and threw their loving arms around Levi and his family.”

Clark remembered Levi as “the most perfect 3-year-old there ever was” and said she was thankful to be his “Aunt Mindy.” Levi’s mother, Kallie Wright, shared in an earlier update that the family would take him off life support. She wrote, “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. I know there are angels up there waiting to hold him until I can again. We love you, baby beans, and I can’t wait till the day you can ‘work the ground’ with me again.”

The upbeat toddler wasn’t expected to survive but showed promising signs early on despite being brain dead, and even woke up in his hospital bed, giving his family hope. His mother continued, “Levi showed us just enough to buy us time for all of this. We prayed those things were him defying the odds & proving to us that he wanted to stay here, but we see now he wanted to give us time to find peace by letting him go. During this time, he brought out humanity across the nation; he dropped so many to their knees & reminded them of what truly matters in this world. It kind of gives that T-rex strength a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?”

Levi’s father, Spencer Wright, was ranked 35th in the world last year by ProRodeo and is the son of ProRodeo Hall of Fame Bill Wright. Please keep the Wright family in your prayers.