Family of Teen Brothers Injured in ‘Nightmare’ Crash Speak Out – ryan

A high school senior from Minnesota is in critical condition following a crash that also injured his younger brother. A week after the accident, their family is hoping for the best.

On Wednesday, April 9, around 9:00 p.m. local time, Blayke Mostad, 17, was driving his 15-year-old brother Braxton and their 19-year-old friend in Milaca when they were involved in a collision with a wrong-way driver, the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office told local outlet Bring Me The News.

A Minnesota State Patrol trooper, who was responding to the crash, was not able to slow down in time to avoid the vehicles, causing another collision, reported CBS affiliate WCOO-TV. The two crashes resulted in five people getting injured, the Minnesota State Patrol said in a statement — four with non-life-threatening injuries, including Braxton, and one, Blayke, with critical wounds.

The Minnesota State Patrol said the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.

Baylie Lesnick, Braxton and Blayke’s sister, tells PEOPLE that her two brothers and their friend were okay after the initial accident and got “out of the car to check on the other driver.” She claims both boys’ injuries were sustained in the second crash, involving the State Patrol trooper.

The Sheriff’s Department, which did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, said that “investigators are examining the possibility that some of the occupants of the vehicles involved in the T-bone were outside of their vehicles when the second collision occurred,” according to KSTP.

“Both of these boys love their family and their friends with their whole heart,” Lesnick says, adding, “It truly shows how loved they are with the amount of support we have received.”

Family members say Blayke remains in critical condition and has undergone a number of surgeries.

“He’s got severe brain damage, spinal cord damage, his legs are crushed,” Blayke’s aunt Kris Reiman told KTSP. “Pretty much everything in his body is broken.”

His sister tells PEOPLE Braxton is the “most caring soul” she’s ever met. “Braxton took the shirt off his back after the initial accident to wipe the blood off of his friend’s face,” Lesnick adds.

According to a GoFundMe set up on behalf of the family, Braxton — who was recently released from the hospital, according to Bring Me the News — sustained a ruptured eye, facial laceration and a torn ACL in the crash.

Lesnick has stood by Blayke as he continues to recover in the hospital. The 17-year-old “has strength and bravery running through his bones,” Lesnick tells PEOPLE.

“He is absolutely fearless. It doesn’t matter what it is. That kid will prove that he can do anything,” Lesnick says. “Blayke is a very active kid, and this accident is going to change his life forever, which breaks my heart so incredibly much.”

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In a message shared on the family’s GoFundMe page, which has raised over $23,000, Lesnick said this has been a “nightmare” for her family.

“We are doing our best,” she wrote, adding that “for the foreseeable future, my family will be spending the majority of our time at the hospital making sure that Blayke has the medical care that he needs.”

“Our family is grateful for any help that comes our way. We appreciate all the love & support that has been shown,” she added. “Please continue to send prayers our way as they are so desperately needed.”