Reformed University Fellowship’s former leader is in critical condition after he fell off his bicycle Wednesday evening, said RUF’s current leader.Dustin Salter, the previous RUF leader, started the RUF program at TCU eight years ago, said the Rev. Rob Hamby, the current leader for RUF.
Salter was riding his bike, without a helmet, with his two sons, Jacob, 9, and Nathan, 7, when he fell off his bike one block away from his house, Hamby said.
“His sons ran home to tell their mother,” Hamby said. “He was immediately life-flighted to Greenville Memorial Hospital.”
At this time, he is in a medically-induced coma for 48 hours after having surgery to remove blood clots and part of his skull to reduce swelling in his brain, Hamby said.
“He is responding to light and sound – he heard the sound of singing and got agitated,” Hamby said. “Basically, he hasn’t gotten any worse, but he also hasn’t gotten any better.”
Salter moved to Greenville, S.C., last year to be closer to his family, Hamby said.
He is now the RUF leader at Furman University, where students have responded to him very well, said Taylor Gresham, an intern working with Salter for Furman University’s RUF.
“He has fit right in, and the students just love him,” Gresham said. “Everyone is very saddened by yesterday’s events and prayer groups have been organized since we heard the news.”
Jessica Ralston, a junior nursing major and a member of RUF’s core group, says she was shocked by the news of Salter’s accident.
“I received a text message about a prayer group for Dustin, but I didn’t think anything of it because we have been praying for him on a regular basis since he moved to South Carolina,” Ralston said. “When I got to the Student Center, I was blown away when I heard the news about his accident.”
Salter has stayed in constant contact with members of TCU’s RUF since he left, Ralston said. The group receives “weekly Dustin updates” either by e-mail or from phone conversations students have had with him throughout the week, Ralston said.
“So far, we have organized prayer groups and have been meeting with students who wanted to talk about it,” Hamby said. “We are all in this together.
