Today's edition · Friday, October 9, 2026
Every story verifiedNo politics. Ever.No pop-ups
Subscribe
TodayLocalHeroesAnimalsScienceCommunityHealth & Tech

TodayHeroesUtah

HeroesHenefer, Utah

A Henefer baseball coach restarted an 8-year-old's heart with CPR

Tyce Gardner was hit in the chest by a ball and went into cardiac arrest. Coach Gene Richins started compressions at once, and doctors expect Tyce to fully recover.

Verified · Source: KSL.comOct 7, 2026 · 1 min read
How to help
An empty dirt and grass baseball field under a blue sky with mountains behind
Illustrative photo of a baseball field. This is not the Henefer field. Yotejonga / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0

Read the original

The reporting lives at KSL.com. Our summary is checked against it, and we link it on every story.

Read it on KSL.com

Eight-year-old Tyce Gardner was gathering baseballs at his older brother's practice in Henefer when a throw during a drill hit him in the chest. He collapsed with no pulse and was not breathing, KSL.com reported on October 7, 2026.

Head coach Gene Richins started CPR immediately while Tyce's father, Bryce, called 911 and a dispatcher helped count compressions. Crews from the new Henefer fire station, about half a mile away, arrived in about three minutes and restored his heartbeat with a defibrillator within six minutes. Tyce was flown to Primary Children's Hospital and went home after two days. Tests are still under way, but doctors believe he will fully recover.

The North Summit Fire District honored Richins at Henefer Town Hall. It was his first time doing CPR, though he had taken classes. "It will take a few hours of your day," he said. "And it will pay off sometime in your life."

More good news

Other stories in the same neighborhood of kindness.