Former BYU basketball coach Roger Reid nearly lost his life Monday, March 10, in an accident on a golf course. Family members say he is lucky to be alive.
Fortunately, being the fierce fighter and competitor he is, Reid survived what many men his age may not have.
It’s a tribute to his legendary, unconquerable spirit.
Last Thursday, I texted coach Reid and asked if we could chat for a column I was working on about the NCAA Tournament. I’d talked to former Cougar coaches Steve Cleveland and Dave Rose and needed Reid’s insight on BYU’s fortunes over the years in the Big Dance,
I never heard back from him. That was unusual, as he always responds.
Reid, 78, is the main caretaker of his lovely wife Diane, a former master school teacher in the Nebo School District who is suffering from dementia.
Roger is Diane’s prince these days.
He feeds, dresses and cares for Diane’s every need, a debt he can never repay for the 38 years of support she gave him as a basketball coach at every level of the game. Roger tries to take Diane with him wherever he goes and on this day it was golfing at Nephi’s Canyon Hills Golf Course.
“My sweet mom with Alzheimer’s ran over my dad with a golf cart at Nephi’s golf course,” said his oldest son Randy. “He was doing the thing he loved most as her full-time caregiver. My brothers (Robbie, Darren) and I got to Nephi just before he was lifeflighted from Nephi Hospital. He was in bad shape.
“We gave him a blessing. He had five hours of surgery and he’ll have more surgery in a few days,” he continued. “I talked to him in the ICU about 1:30 in the morning. He was worried about my mom, but he was as tough and loving as ever.
“He said he was almost finished playing a great round. My mom was sitting in the cart and started going, then flipped around and came right back at him. The lifeflight guys said he was lucid and tough and he even cracked a few jokes even as the pain required fentanyl and ketamine,” said Randy.
Darren said his father was walking off the green and Diane was in her usual passenger-side seat in the cart.
“He plays, she watches and snags the occasional ball for him,” Darren said. “She suddenly hit the gas (likely with her left leg) and started going away from my dad. My dad yelled for her to stop. Somehow she turned around and came right toward my dad and ran him over full throttle. The cart dragged him about 10 feet into the sand trap where it remained on him.”
Luckily, a group nearby saw the accident. A current fulltime Utah National Guard staff sergeant, Payton Lunt , 26, and his wife Avery, 24, who is an ER technician at Spanish Fork Hospital, rushed to the scene to help from hole six behind the Reids. The Lunts were among the youngest golfers on the course that day, as many older patrons were sprinkled throughout the layout and may not have been unable to free Reid from under the cart.
Payton lifted the cart off Reid and Avery helped move Roger.
Said Darren, “Payton was playing behind them that day. I told him he and his wife saved my dad’s life. Payton was going to hit his second shot into the green when he saw the tail end of the accident. Avery got on her hands and knees and helped get Dad from under the cart. Dad’s face was turning blue and he was not breathing because his face had been pushed into the sand. Payton got sand out of his mouth and he started breathing.”
Payton remembers Roger saying once he caught his breath, “Damnit, I was having a good round.”
Roger was taken to Nephi hospital and later flown to UVRM’s emergency room in Provo.
The collision led to multiple serious injuries, including breaking his fibula in two places on his right leg and a compound fracture of the tibia on his left leg. His right shoulder and left elbow were broken and he was bleeding from multiple wounds and lacerations. Seven ribs were broken, both eyes were black, and he banged up his forehead when he faceplanted in the sand.
Roger had a five-hour surgery last Monday to repair his leg. On March 12 he had a second surgery to repair the elbow. On March 14 he had a third surgery to repair the shoulder.
“My dad is in a fight for his life,” said Darren. “He is as tough as they come. It is a miracle he is alive.”
A younger sister, Kelli, currently has Diane in her care and the Reid family is looking at options for the future. Roger is expected to be in the hospital for at least two weeks and then a rehab center with a long recovery ahead of him, according to Randy.
Roger and Diane are inseparable in their love and devotion to one another. They raised kids who were at the top of their classes academically and are now successful businessmen and leaders.
But it is a reminder that this life is a journey of unpredictable events.
“It was a scary day for sure,” said pro shop director Jamie Kendall. “Payton got to him within minutes and lifted the golf cart off him and Avery was able to stabilize him as they got sand out of his mouth and worked on him. The ambulance crew got there in about 10 minutes.
“Angels were golfing with Roger that day, needless to say,” said Kendall.
Darren quoted the late Neal A. Maxwell: “Irony is the crust on the bread of adversity.”
Said Darren, “I can’t help but think of two overarching poignant ironies. First, in a life filled with adversity — especially physical pain — it is just hard to believe my dad is dealing with this in the last chapter of his life. Second, after devoting his life to my mother and her care during these last six years, here he was doing the thing he loved to do with her the most. It’s just hard to believe this happened.”
The road ahead will be a tough one for Roger, and certainly for his wife, who Roger will be unable to care for for an undeterminable time.
If you are a praying person, send some words their way.
