BATON ROUGE — Weeks after a crash on the Amite River sent multiple people to the hospital, a young woman is recovering from the severe injuries she sustained.
“I’m extremely lucky considering everything that happened,” the victim told UWK.
On July 18, Kyli Everett and her fiancé Baylin Wyatt, along with their two young children, a 1 and 2-year-old, decided to take a ride on the Amite River and dropped their boat in at Fred’s around 6 p.m. The crash involved three boats and happened around 8:20 p.m. on July 18th.
Everett, Wyatt and the two children were thrown from the boat in the crash. “It’s a miracle,” Wyatt said of the situation.
AirMed took Everett to the hospital, where she was intubated after multiple surgeries. She says she can barely remember what happened from the boat crash.
“I don’t really remember much. I know I was floating in the water for a minute. I remember them pulling me out of the water but I don’t remember much. I just kept asking if my babies were okay, which they were,” she told UWK.
In the days following the crash, Everett needed seven staples in her head, and her ligaments and bones were shattered in her neck, Wyatt told UWK. She underwent surgery to insert plates and rods.
While she is now breathing on her own, she is unable to verbally speak and said she’s re-learning how to talk. She is able to type and write, but she is also having to relearn how to walk.
“It’s going to be a long journey,” she said.
Wyatt and the two children were also taken to the hospital immediately following the crash, but were all released the next day. Their little boy initially needed stitches, which have since been taken out, and the little girl had minor cuts to her leg.
Long-term, Everett said she should be able to make a full recovery: “I won’t be able to look down anymore. Lost 30% mobility in my neck. But overall should make a full recovery.”
She added that she’s thankful for the prayers from the community. “It really means a lot to me to know that people care.”
While she remains in the hospital and is unable to care for their kids herself, Everett said her children have now started daycare. She has started a GoFundMe to help with those expenses as she continues to physically heal. For those interested in helping her and her family, donations can be made here.
Wildlife & Fisheries has not released any further details, including the cause of the crash of it any arrest(s) are pending.
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