The two brothers were out with a friend when tragedy struck: Four were killed and 13 were injured when a police pursuit ended in a devastating crash.
TAMPA, Fla. — Two brothers who survived the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School almost six years ago were injured in the deadly Ybor City crash.
Connor and Brandon Dietrich were out in Ybor City Friday night with a lifelong friend, Riley Hancock, when tragedy struck. They were at a table outside Bradley’s on 7th when all three were hit.
Brandon was the only one to escape serious injury, initially pinned against a glass wall by the car, he broke free to render aid and help his brother and friend.
“He finds Connor lying in a puddle of blood; he finds what he didn’t realize was Riley at first, but he saw somebody with a severe laceration on their forehead and then realized that’s Riley,” their dad, Bob, said. “He just kind of jumped into action.”
A response Bob said was honed when the brothers were both in class during the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland.
“He’s never opened up to us about that, and I was afraid we were going to have the same kind of an issue with this,” he said. “But surprisingly, you can see it in his eyes, he’s struggling, but he’s talking, which is, that’s the most important thing he can do, so he’s doing remarkably well.”
Connor, a USF graduate, is still hospitalized at St. Joseph’s with severe injuries.
“He’s got several skull fractures on the left side of his head,” Bob said. “He’s got a broken shoulder, clavicle, a lacerated spleen.”
He said they are waiting on MRI results to find out how his brain was affected by the crash.
“We just don’t know; I don’t know if I’m going to have my son back,” he said.
As for the driver accused of causing the crash, more felony charges were filed against him on Tuesday. Court records also show his next appearance is on Thursday.
There’s a GoFundMe for Connor’s medical bills and another GoFundMe for Riley Hancock’s medical bills.