Ben, Kelsey, and Jack Leibel were in a severe car accident on Friday, April 12th around 5:00 PM on Highway 8 in Chisago County. They were driving on Highway 8 when an oncoming car decided to make a left hand turn at the last second, cutting them off to the point of a head on collision. Ben and Kelsey's SUV rolled multiple times. Every airbag deployed in the car. The vehicle landed on the passenger side where both Ben and Jack were. Kelsey was suspended by her seatbelt, but the only thing that she was concerned about was getting Jack to safety, as the car was full of smoke. She screamed for Ben to go check on their son. Ben climbed towards the back of the vehicle to check on Jack who was screaming and crying during the vehicle rolling, but was completely silent once they had stopped moving. Ben climbed to the backseat and was relieved to see Jack conscious and breathing. Jack was in complete shock and had hit his head, causing a huge bump and lots of swelling. Ben was able to unbuckle Jack from his car seat and hold him in his left arm. Luckily a good Samaritan, who happened to be an off duty police officer, stopped to help. Ben moved the side airbag out of the way and saw the man in the window above them trying to get the door open. Between the two of them, they were able to pry the door open and Ben was able to hand him Jack, and was able pull himself from the wreckage. Kelsey was able to get out of her seat belt and fell down to the passenger side of the vehicle. Kelsey grabbed Ben's arm to help herself climb out of the rubble.

The three of them went to the hospital. Both Jack and Kelsey received CT scans. They stayed up with Jack all night to make sure he didn't have a concussion. Ben broke his left hand in multiple places and his right kneecap was fractured in two. Ben said that he was trying to protect Kelsey, who is expecting a baby, from the collision. He put his hand in front of her body as a shield.

Due to Ben's medical condition, he can not work until he is healed and may require multiple surgeries. Ben has been going through his Electrical Apprenticeship with Local #110 and is currently employed with O'Neill Electric. O'Neill Electric has been super supportive with Ben's situation. This is a huge setback for Ben and his family. Ben is losing hours and wages due to the situation they find themselves in.

Their family is emotionally drained, not only from this traumatizing accident, but also with the one year anniversary approaching of Kelsey losing her father to Cancer. In addition, Ben is confined to a wheelchair due to his broken kneecap and hand, and will be unable to work for some time while possibly undergoing multiple surgeries prior to recovery. Anything you can donate will help the family get through these difficult times and help pay for Ben's missed time at work, medical bills, rehabilitation of his broken limbs, as well as wheelchair accessibility renovations in their home.

Thank you!

Update on April 23rd:

Unfortunately Ben's hand is not healing properly and requires surgery. He is scheduled for surgery on April 25th. We are hoping everything goes well and this helps his recovery.