Support for the Bragan Family

On September 12, 2021 around 10:10 PM, my brother-in-law, Bobby Bragan was hit head-on by a drunk driver on a rural highway between Dickson and Columbia. He was halfway home from my house and I was able to get to the scene before they life-flighted him to Vanderbilt. The first thing I saw was a demolished full size Chevy pickup, missing the entire right front-end, facing me on the shoulder of the oncoming lane. Then, several yards away, was the underside of Bobby's GMC Terrain, with the back-end hanging off the shoulder. It was laying on the passenger side, and as I walked around, the windshield and roof had been cut open. I found the Trooper on the scene who directed me to the ambulance that was about to shuttle Bobby to the helicopter a few miles down the road. He was conscious and talking but in a lot of pain. When the ambulance left, I talked with the 2 young ladies that were the 1st to arrive and called it in. The other driver was ejected from his vehicle and was not conscious when they stopped to help but came to when EMS arrived. He was also life-flighted with critical injuries. As I was heading back to my vehicle to get to the hospital, one of the ladies stopped me and asked if she could pray with me. She spoke a very powerful prayer which was a huge blessing and encouragement.

Rebekah and Colton were not able to get close to the scene from the south because the road was blocked to allow for the helicopter to land. I was able to take several foggy backroads to get around to them and Rebekah and I headed to the Vanderbilt ER ICU. Bobby had several injuries and was not allowed to move much until they were sure his neck was not broken. After several hours and multiple tests, they discovered severe trauma to his spleen, 2 broken ribs, 2 transverse process lumbar fractures (small bones on the side of vertebrae), an open wound on his hip, and multiple broken and displaced bones in his left hand and wrist, with 2 of those being open fractures. Thankfully, there were no immediate life-threatening injuries based on the exams that night. The next day, Bobby was monitored by the trauma unit to make sure the spleen did not continue bleeding and had surgery on his hand to reset the bones. He was released the evening of September 14, 2021, and has been having a very slow and difficult time recovering at home. Based on the severity of his injuries, it will be months before he is fully recovered. The horrific nature of the accident will have much longer lasting effects.

Bobby is a bi-vocational pastor of Blue Springs FWB, a small church in Columbia, TN. Rebekah is in her final year of Graduate school and Internship. Their youngest child, Colton, is a senior in high school and their 3 older children no longer live at home. They have been in full-time ministry for over 23 years, impacting churches and Christian schools. This near-fatal accident has caused a ripple effect to their lively-hood. We are all very thankful that God spared Bobby's life that night. Bobby is used to counseling others through times like this and has helped coordinate support for families during their time of need. He is now on the other side and is in need of support. Before the accident, Bobby was a driver for Lyft and Uber to support his family, but it will be months before he is able to get back to a normal way of life.