Boy who died in ATV crash gives gift of life

MONTICELLO — Seven-year-old Landon Woodbury, of Draper, has died — but other lives will go on because of him.

Landon was critically injured Wednesday in a four-wheeler accident. After being sent to three hospitals in two days, the boy was pronounced dead Thursday. His parents, Spencer and Penny Woodbury, decided to donate his organs so that others won't have to share their son's fate.

"We felt this is what Landon would want — that he would want to give the ultimate gift, the gift of life, to other people," the boy's father said Friday.

The child was riding an ATV when he approached an intersection and collided with a Crowley Construction dump truck. The child was wearing a helmet but still suffered severe head injuries. Landon's older sister had been following him on a separate four-wheeler.

He was taken to San Juan Hospital in Monticello, but the rural hospital wasn't equipped to treat all of his injuries, so it flew him to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., said San Juan County deputy sheriff Grayson Red. The hospital commonly transfers seriously injured patients from Monticello to Grand Junction for further treatment.

He was then transferred to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, where he later died.

His parents kept him on life support long enough for his organs to be donated. The sheriff's office issued differing reports of the boy's status Thursday, since it was unsure as to whether the boy's being on life support meant he was alive or dead.

As of Friday morning, his organs had been donated and his body was taken off life support.

Landon is survived by his parents, two brothers and three sisters. He and his family were visiting the mother's parents 10 miles east of Monticello, a tradition for them.

"We had just gone camping up the canyon," his father said. The child, who loved to play video games and always made his family laugh, was probably having the best day of his life, he said.

Spencer Woodbury said he'll miss reading his son books at night and giving him giant bear hugs. And most of all, "I'll remember his smile," he said.

The accident is under investigation. San Juan County Sheriff Mike Lacy said rain and speed may have been contributing factors in the accident.

E-MAIL: mmcfall@desnews.com