TOP STORY OF THE DAY, brought to you free by WICU: Community rallying around brothers badly hurt in crash

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On Jan. 8, Braiden Rains saw every parent’s nightmare play out in her rearview mirror.

With one of her three sons, Dylan Butts, seated next to her in the passenger seat of their family car, the other two, riding in their pickup truck, turned onto U.S. 46 and crossed a nearby bridge when Russell Butts and Corbin Butts hit a patch of ice that sent them into a steep ditch and left both with serious injuries.

Both were sent to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where Russell was diagnosed with numerous fractures in his body, which includes a broken mandible, elbow, spine, pelvis and ribs, as well as severe sprained ankles. Corbin was diagnosed with a broken spine and clavicle and a brain injury that forced doctors to put him on a ventilator while inserting two tubes into his chest and drain into his head.

With a long journey ahead of them on their road to recovery, not to mention the long list of medical expenses, families and organizations around Clay County have stepped up in an effort to help Raines and her sons.

Clay City’s student council announced Jan. 14 would be Eel Pride Day. The students at Clay City were asked to wear purple to show support for Russell and Corbin. They also raised money with donations and by selling suckers and pencils with all of the proceeds going to Raines and the Butts brothers.

Mavery Bridgewaters, the owner of Bits N Bites in downtown Brazil and a close friend of Rains, opened an account at Riddell National Bank for anyone to make monetary donations. Bridgewaters also collected gift cards to various restaurants in Brazil, as well as snacks for the Rains/Butts family. She brought them up on Wednesday and Thursday of last week and will continue to do so throughout their recovery.

Debbi Stephens, who’s known the three Butts brothers since they began going to Staunton Elementary School with her grandson Tristin Stephens, started a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising money for Raines and her sons.

Stephens, with Russell and Corbin on her mind, laid awake the Sunday evening after the accident and wondered what she could do to help. She ultimately landed on the thought of starting the GoFundMe page for her friends.

She set a goal of $5,000 on the page, but admitted she thought that was a little high.

“When we learned about the accident and found out how severe the injuries were, we felt so helpless. Sunday night, about 11 p.m., I couldn’t sleep. My mind was racing. What can I do to help Russell and Corbin? I had never hosted a GoFundMe page and thought if I raised $500 it would be something,” said Stephens. “I set a goal of $5,000 thinking that was pretty lofty.”

To Stephens’ amazement, the page, as of Sunday evening, had raised nearly $9,000. Stephens said she was blown away by the support it’s received, but noted it wasn’t all that surprising knowing how much Clay County admires Rains and her sons and are a community that will always be there to take care of their own in a time of need.

“I was shocked when we reached that goal in less than 24 hours,” said Stephens. “That being said, I also know how a small community will wrap their arms around their families in times of need. Brazil, Clay City, Riley, Cory, they all rock! I’ve had donations from $10 to $300. It all adds up and will help toward living expenses, travel to and from the hospital and whatever is immediately needed. I am beyond humbled by the outpouring of love for this family.”

Calvary Baptist Church also set up a drop off for monetary donations, as well as non-perishable food and snacks, during a two-hour window Wednesday night to support the Butts brothers, all of whom have been members of the church’s youth group over the last few years.

“Our youth group teens are unified and truly care about each other. Corbin, Russell and Dylan have been a part of our youth group for the last couple years,” said Amy Nichols, who was in charge of the youth group’s donation fund for Rains and her sons. “As soon as we head about the accident, we wanted to do something right away. We started hearing how serious it was and went to work immediately to get them some help.

“We started thinking about the possible needs. [Raines] is a single mom who is hairdresser, so finance was first. They will be at the hospital for a long while, so we wanted to provide things for them while they are there,” Nichols continued. “We first reached out to Dylan and Braiden, and they put us in touch with Mavery Bridgewaters. We presented the need to our church family Sunday morning and evening, and to the community as a whole Sunday afternoon.”

Like Stephens, Nichols was overjoyed with the amount of support their two-hour drop off fundraiser garnered.

“It was great to see on Wednesday night that our teens saw the severity of the situation,” said Nichols. “Throughout the entire evening, we were interrupted with monetary and food donations. The teens split up into smaller groups and prayed over this family. So many in the community have sent things in and dropped things off. It is fantastic to see so many people of all ages see the issue at hand and wanting to provide that need.”

Each of the three Butts brothers have been active in various sports during their high school careers. Corbin was a standout cross country and track and field runner at Northview and is currently a member of the University of Southern Indiana cross country team. Russell and Dylan ran cross country and played basketball at Northview during their freshmen and sophomore years and are currently members of the Clay City basketball and cross country teams.

When told about the support their current or former athletes have received from the Clay County community, Northview head boys cross country coach James Grounds, Clay City head boys cross country coach Cole Schroer and Clay City head boys basketball coach Chris Ames weren’t the least bit surprised, stating the communities and schools love and admire the Butts brothers.

“I’d be lying if I said I was shocked by the amount of support the Butts boys have received from individuals and groups in Clay County,” said Grounds. “It’s comforting to know that members of our community will do whatever is necessary to help those who deal with hardships. Corbin and Russell are two former athletes of mine who I have always considered myself lucky to get to coach and cultivate a relationship with. They are great young men who are always happy and bring a smile to the face of anyone they interact with. It’s been great to see so many people concerned and sending thoughts and prayers for them. They are part of a great community that cares for them.”

“I’m not sure that I can adequately express just how much it has all meant. The number of prayers, words of encouragement, and generosity has all been staggering,” said Schroer. “At the same time, I can’t say that I’m all that surprised, because I know this community is special. I can’t think of a more important time to feel loved and cared for than in a time like this, and we are certainly feeling that from our community right now.”

“The great thing about being from Clay County is the outpouring of support in times of need. Especially in our local community,” said Ames. “It makes you proud to live where you do. There’s nothing better than rural Indiana.”

The outpouring of love and support haven’t gone unnoticed by Rains and her family either. She is grateful for everything the local communities have done for them, which has allowed her to be with her sons during their road to recovery.

“The outpouring support from the community has allowed me to be to be with my boys while they take baby steps to reach acute rehabilitation facility,” said Rains. “It’s all a little overwhelming. I had no idea how many people’s lives we have touched. Our community is such a blessing to us, and they are precious. We give all our glory to God for keeping my boys safe. Jesus has held our hands through this entire process.”

There are more donations and fundraisers Clay County can participate in the upcoming week.

On Tuesday, during the Northview-Terre Haute North boys basketball game, the Patriots will be holding a Miracle Minute with all monetary donations being sent to Raines and her sons.

Calvary Baptist Church will have another two-hour monetary and non-perishable food and snack drop off at the church Wednesday night from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

Laura and Andrew Albright are raffling off a Savage Axis with a scope. Raffle tickets are $5 apiece and will be sold until the goal set by the Albrights has been reached. All proceeds from the raffle will be sent to Rains.

Stephens’ GoFundMe page will remain open for at least another week, and the Riddell National Bank account set up for monetary donations will remain open as well.