Man who survived deadly crash returns to finish church mission in New Mexico
Published at | Updated at
ROBERTS — A local 19-year-old has returned to New Mexico to finish his Latter-day Saint Church mission after a tragic vehicle crash hospitalized him with significant injuries and killed two missionaries he was traveling with.
EastIdahoNews.com reported almost four months ago, about a two-vehicle crash that happened on the Navajo Nation Indian Reserve on July 22 in New Mexico. The three missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were inside a Toyota Tacoma when they crashed with a Ram pickup truck.
RELATED | LDS missionary from Jefferson County hospitalized after crash, 2 other missionaries killed
On Wednesday, FBI Public Affairs spokesman Frank Fisher told EastIdahoNews.com the driver of the Ram pickup died at the hospital the week following the crash, and the investigation is ongoing. An adult passenger from the Ram pickup truck fled the scene, according to witnesses.
There’s no word as to what happened to the fleeing passenger and it’s still unclear what caused the crash, or who if anyone, was at fault.
The missionaries that were killed were 20-year-old Tyson Gene Haycock from Miles City, Montana and 20-year-old Michael Austin Davis from Corinne, Utah.
The third missionary in the vehicle was Britton Berrett from Roberts. He survived the crash and was hospitalized in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
According to his mother, Tracy Berrett, her son came back to eastern Idaho later that month to have surgery on his collarbone at Mountain View Hospital. He was in recovery from the injuries sustained in the crash for about five and a half weeks.
Tracy said her son left in September to finish his mission in New Mexico. She told EastIdahoNews.com he is doing well.
“We would love to express our thanks to all in the community who showed us so much love and support. It absolutely carried us through that difficult time, and still is!!!” Tracy told EastIdahoNews.com on Tuesday.
Britton Berrett posted publicly on his Facebook profile, “Losing two of my best friends has never been an idea that I could fathom, especially not while serving a mission. And having it actually happen has been the hardest thing I have ever had to face.”
“Elder Haycock and Davis were two of the most amazing men that I have ever met. I love them and miss them both so much. Being able to serve with them was such an amazing blessing. I know that we all will get to see them again someday! I know that through Christ we can do all things.”
Berrett has eight more months left to serve on his mission. LDS church missions for men are two years long.
