Ree Drummond has shared an update on the health of her husband, Ladd Drummond, and nephew Caleb Drummond after the two were involved in a crash near the family’s farm in Osage County, Oklahoma, on Wednesday. The Food Network star updated fans in a post on Facebook on Thursday morning, announcing that the family thinks Ladd and Caleb “will both be okay.”
“I want to thank you all for your prayers for our family,” she wrote. “Caleb and Ladd are in the hospital, but we think they will both be okay. As a family, we are giving thanks today, knowing things could have been much worse. Thank you all for your love and kindness. It means a lot.”
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According to a report from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol obtained by PEOPLE, the collision happened at around 1:43 p.m. on Wednesday. Ladd and Caleb were driving a Himmat Fire Truck on County Road N3660; Caleb was driving southbound, and Ladd was driving northbound. The trucks hit one another “head-on” due to “high winds on a gravel road.” Neither driver was wearing a seatbelt and Caleb “was ejected approximately 70 feet from point of rest.”
The 21-year-old was taken to the St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, where he was admitted in critical condition with head, arm, leg and internal injuries. Ladd, 57, refused treatment at the scene but was later life-flighted by helicopter, Fox 23 News reported. It is unknown what injuries Ladd was being treated for.
Jerry Roberts, the director of Osage County Emergency Management, told Today that Caleb was alert when he was taken to the hospital. “When they left with him, he was talking to me, so that’s a good sign,” Roberts said. “He never opened his eyes or nothing, but he was talking.”
Firefighters in the area have been battling blazes helped along by high winds and Ladd and Caleb were taming an 800- to a 900-acre brush fire on their property, along with other ranchers and volunteer firefighters. Roberts said the crash happened after the fire had been contained and the firefighters were packing up to leave.
He added that the collision cause was unclear and that OHP is investigating the cause of the crash. His team will return to the property on Thursday to investigate what caused the fire.
