SANDY, Utah, Oct. 23, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Actor Jared Leto has donated $5,000 to assist two toddlers who were injured when they were hit by a car in a Sandy City crosswalk earlier this month.
The actor was nominated by his friend, DJ Zedd, who originated the #GoodThingChallenge, the concept of which is to do something good for somebody else.
“Do something good, no matter how big or small,” Leto tweeted. “For my good thing I donated to these people.” Leto chose two beneficiaries, including the toddlers that were hit by a car Oct. 8.
Leto tweeted: “Griffin (3) and Watson (18 months) were in a stroller when a car hit them. Watson suffered a broken neck, broken pelvis, and lacerated liver. Griffin suffered a full break skull fracture, broken clavicle, and abrasions.”
Sandy Police Sgt. Jason Nielsen told Gephardt Daily at the time the incident occurred in the area of 1853 E. Sego Lily Drive and 911 calls began to come in at 9:12 a.m.
The mother of the toddlers was pushing them in a stroller across Sego Lily Drive in a crosswalk when they were hit by a vehicle traveling east, Nielsen said.
The female driver of the vehicle stayed on scene and cooperated with officials, Nielsen said.
The GoFundMe account has raised $88,665 of a $100,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon.
The GoFundMe page, the day after the accident, said: “Griffin was thrown from the stroller and Watson was thrown in the stroller. Both boys were flown on Life Flight to Primary Children’s Hospital as Level 1 Trauma. Griffin is in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)… Brighton has minor injuries as she put her arm out in an attempt to shield the boys but the stroller took the full brunt force of the hit.
“Thankfully both boys are in stable condition now thanks to the wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff at Primary Children’s. However, they have a very long hard road of recovery ahead. Michael, the boys’ dad, is a full-time medical student at the University of Utah. Brighton is an EMT in the University of Utah Hospital ER. The boys were previously covered by Medicaid but are no longer covered. Medical costs for these two sweet boys are unknown but will likely be very steep. We anticipate the driver’s car insurance will help but to what extent is unknown. We ask that you donate any amount you can as anything will help.”
An update on the page Oct. 16 said: “Watson’s MRI results showed a lot more damage than initially thought including a broken neck, torn tendons and ligaments in his neck, and severe brain abrasions. He has to relearn how to do almost everything. And he’s now on a feeding tube because he wasn’t eating or drinking enough …. Thank you again to everyone who has sent thoughts, prayers, and your generous donations. It means the world to our family. And Griffin is home and doing well! We can’t wait for Watson to come home too!”
Leto nominated three other people to carry out the #GoodThingChallenge, including Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of Imagine Dragons, who attended Brigham Young University and is the founder of the Utah music festival LOVELOUD, the profits of which are donated to LGBTQ organizations.
