On Friday night, Connor and Brandon Dietrich, along with their close friend Riley Hancock, became victims of a horrific crash that claimed four lives and caused injuries to several others.
In a twist of fate, the Dietrich brothers, who had previously survived the tragic Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting nearly six years ago, found themselves injured in another calamity in Ybor City, Tampa.
The trio was enjoying their evening at an outdoor table at Bradley’s on 7th when disaster unfolded. A vehicle careened into their vicinity, causing injuries to all three friends.
Brandon managed to escape major harm, despite being momentarily trapped against a glass wall by the vehicle. Once free, he sprang into action, providing aid to Connor and Riley.
“Brandon found Connor in a pool of blood and soon realized the person with a severe cut on their forehead was Riley,” shared their father, Bob. “He instinctively jumped in to help.”
Bob believes this quick response is a testament to their experience during the 2018 Parkland school shooting, which taught them to act swiftly in emergencies.
“He’s never opened up to us about that, and I was afraid we were going to have the same kind of an issue with this,” he said. “But surprisingly, you can see it in his eyes, he’s struggling, but he’s talking, which is, that’s the most important thing he can do, so he’s doing remarkably well.”
Connor, a USF graduate, is still hospitalized at St. Joseph’s with severe injuries.
“He’s got several skull fractures on the left side of his head,” Bob said. “He’s got a broken shoulder, clavicle, a lacerated spleen.”
He said they are waiting on MRI results to find out how his brain was affected by the crash.
“We just don’t know; I don’t know if I’m going to have my son back,” he said.
As for the driver accused of causing the crash, more felony charges were filed against him on Tuesday. Court records also show his next appearance is on Thursday.
There’s a GoFundMe for Connor’s medical bills and another GoFundMe for Riley Hancock’s medical bills.
