North Idaho responder battles head injury after rollover crash

Dave Bruyette was heading home from a mutual-aid fire in St. Maries when his truck rolled several times on Highway 97 and slammed into a tree, leaving the North Idaho responder with a serious head injury and a recovery that has stretched far beyond the crash scene.

Bruyette is known in the region as a pastor, chaplain, veteran, death-notification officer, volunteer firefighter, EMT, father, grandfather and husband. In the wreck, his partner was ejected from the truck, and Bruyette was briefly unconscious. Even then, he tried to respond like a responder, asking a homeowner for an address so he could pass the location along accurately to incoming help.

The first signs of how badly he had been hurt did not fully show themselves right away. Over time, Bruyette developed brain fog, cognitive problems and a temporary stutter, symptoms that made the injury harder to understand and harder to treat. He waited months to see a neuropathology specialist, a delay that underscored how thin specialized care can be for injured first responders once the sirens stop and the paperwork begins.

Bruyette and his wife, Felicia, eventually traveled to Boise for private treatment after help came together from friends, community members and organizations willing to advocate for him. Mission43’s Operation Resilient Path Program stepped in to sponsor him, adding another layer of support for a veteran and first responder dealing with traumatic brain injury and the long tail of recovery.

His rehabilitation has included physical therapy, vestibular therapy, speech therapy and hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Bruyette credited Felicia and local wellness professionals in Hayden for helping him reach the point where he could continue treatment in Boise, showing how much recovery can depend on family, neighbors and a patchwork of care.

The crash and its aftermath also laid bare a familiar burden in North Idaho, where mutual-aid calls can pull responders far from home and injuries can turn the helper into the patient. Bruyette spent years giving emotional, spiritual and practical support to others. Now, his recovery has required the same kind of sustained attention from the community he served, a reminder that the line between rescuer and patient can disappear in a single rollover on a rural highway.