Member giving roadside assistance critically hurt; fundraiser established

Dustin R. Wyatt, most recently a member of SMART Transportation Division Local 1574 (Portland, Ore.), was injured May 18 in a roadside collision in the Bonnet Carre Spillway near New Orleans as he stopped to provide roadside assistance during an automobile crash and is now fighting for his life.

The 31-year-old husband and father of two is listed in critical condition in a Louisiana hospital after he was struck in a second collision and hurled him 50 feet down from a bridge into a marshy area, breaking multiple bones.

An online fundraiser has been established to assist with his medical costs.

“It is truly a miracle that he has survived,” his wife, Samantha Wyatt, wrote in a message on a GoFundMe post. “Although in critical condition, we do believe he will push through this. We have been faced with an event that will change Dustin’s life forever, threatening the career he has worked so hard for and many other goals in the future that he had his eye on.”

Brother Wyatt has been a member of SMART-TD since November 2018 and works as a trainman/brakeman for Union Pacific. He and his family had recently moved from Washington state to Lafayette, Louisiana. He was in the process of transferring into a new home local when the accident occurred.

He has been on and off a ventilator in the days since the accident and has a number of surgeries and therapy ahead once his condition is stabilized, Samantha Wyatt wrote.

“Please help donate to the cause. All money will be used for medical bills and rehabilitation,” she wrote. “Please pray for Dustin and our family during this really difficult time.”

Updates on Brother Wyatt and a donation link can be found here.