Man suffers brain injury, broken bones after RZR crash lands him in hospital

IDAHO FALLS — A 28-year-old man has a long road to recovery ahead after he was in a serious side-by-side crash in Bingham County.

The crash occurred in the afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 18, near Sugar Factory Road in Firth. It was in the intersection of 800 North and 900 East.

“A RZR was traveling south on 900 East and failed to stop at the stop sign and collided with a 2003 Ford truck traveling east on 800 North,” said Sgt. Lawrence Henrie with the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office.

Tristin Hatch, of Shelley, was on a hunting trip and alone on his brother’s RZR. After the crash, he was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. He’s been in the ICU ever since.

“It was pretty rough. I was the one the sheriff’s office called because he was on my RZR, so they didn’t have any idea who they had originally,” Chase Ellett, Hatch’s younger brother, said. “The whole world just kind of stopped. It took me for a loop.”

The 58-year-old man in the truck was checked out by paramedics and released on the scene. He had minor injuries, Henrie said.

Ellett told EastIdahoNews.com his brother got a laceration on his liver, broken ribs, a broken thumb, and a brain injury called DAI. It stands for “diffuse axonal injury.” It’s the “tearing of the brain’s long connecting nerve fibers (axons) that happens when the brain is injured as it shifts and rotates inside the bony skull,” according to Johns Hopkins Medicine online.

Doctors have said it will affect Hatch’s ability to control his emotions and his decision-making, Ellett added.

“He’ll make very impulsive decisions, and then it’s looking like maybe short-term memory loss,” he said.

Hatch recently went through a five-and-a-half-hour surgery to rebuild his diaphragm, too.

“Me and Tristin’s mother are staying up at the hospital. It’s taken a very big toll on her. It’s pretty hard for her to see her son in that position. She hasn’t slept. She’s just been sitting by his side and praying for him,” Ellett said.

Hatch is currently unable to talk.

“He is kind of awake … he can kind of get a smile out of him. Sometimes, if you ask him questions, he can give you a yes or a no by shaking his head a little bit,” said Ellett.

It’s difficult for Ellett to see his brother in this state. The two have been close their entire lives.

“We are the unbreakable two, it seems like. We hunt and fish. We’d go riding in the side-by-side all the time, dirt biking and camping,” Ellett said.

Hatch had just begun a new job and did not have health insurance. Medical expenses will be significant. A GoFundMe has been created for him by his girlfriend. “The funds raised here will go directly toward his hospital bills, life flight costs, and continued care during his recovery,” the GoFundMe said.

As of Monday afternoon, over $4,700 has been raised out of a $50,000 goal. Click here to donate.

Ellett hopes he can eventually see his brother return to work. He thinks it will be one of his biggest challenges.

“He’s a very go-getter type of guy. That’s going to be something that kills him the most is not working,” he said. “He’s a hardworking man. He always has been.”

He said his brother didn’t know the road he was traveling on very well and that he made a mistake.

“It damn near cost him his life, but we all make mistakes. It sucks that my brother is in this position, but we are kind of here based on his actions. I am just thankful it didn’t cost him his life, and he might be able to pull through all this,” Ellett said.

As for the other man involved in the crash, Ellett said he is grateful that he is okay and wasn’t seriously injured.

“I’m glad that they were able to walk away from the scene and that their family is not in the position that our family is in right now,” he said.

According to EIRMC spokeswoman Coleen Niemann, Hatch is in critical condition as of Monday morning.

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