A 37-year-old North Platte man who suffered a spinal injury at Lake McConaughy last summer has unexpectedly passed away.
Travis Evans was with friends at the lake on June 7, 2013, when he decided to splash a friend by jumping over her.
Evans landed on his head and suffered a fracture to his C6 vertebrae. He immediately lost feeling and movement in his lower extremities.
Evans was airlifted to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, and was later transferred to Craig Hopsital in Denver, where he underwent a rigorous 12-week rehabilitation and treatment program.
By all accounts, Evans had recently made some huge strides in his recovery, and had recently posted an excited post on his Facebook page stating that he had walked 190 feet.
However, on Monday, Evans unexpectedly passed away.
Family members say an autopsy has been completed to determine what exactly went wrong, but the cause of death isn’t immediately known.
Evans is survived by his wife, Teresa, and children, Lainee and Logan Evans, all of North Platte; his father, Robert Evans, of Evanston, WY; his grandmother, Elva Evans, of Grand Island, NE; two sisters, Angie (Jeremy) Sanford, of Hershey and Tina Crowell, of North Platte; a half brother, Deric (Cassie) Evans, of Glenrock, WY; his nieces and nephews, Jessi, Alyssa, Aaron, Joey, Kelsey, Bailee and Alleana; great nieces and nephews, Aden, Carly, Jordan and Avery; his uncles, Ron (Diane) Evans, of Georgia, Denny (Vickie) Evans, of Spokane, WA, Ray Evans, of Grand Island, NE, Kim (Ellen) Odean, of Hershey, NE and Don, Jr. (Gayle) Odean, of Redding, CA; numerous cousins and other family.
Memorial service will be 10 a.m. Saturday, April 19, 2014, at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore with Pastor Dan Reimers officiating. Inurnment will follow in the Riverview Cemetery in Sutherland, NE.
Visitation will be Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore followed by cremation. Condolences may be shared at odeanchapel.com. In lieu of flowers the family has established a memorial.