Man with baby on the way dies from wasp sting

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family of a friend who died from a wasp sting Friday in the West Memphis area.

Patrick Wredling said Matt Johnson, 40, developed an allergy to wasp stings as an adult. He said Johnson was with another friend checking his duck blind when he accidentally disturbed a wasp nest.

“He always carried his EpiPen with him, and he’s a big old beast of a guy, you know. So, it’s wild that a bug bite could do something like this,” Wredling said. “He hit himself with the pen and called 911. They were out in the middle of nowhere, so they were trying to get somewhere to meet the ambulance, and they did find them, thankfully, but I think he was unconscious when he got into the ambulance.”

Johnson was the co-owner of local carrier Southern Xpress and leaves behind a wife and a three-year-old son. Wredling said Johnson’s wife is just three weeks away from giving birth to their second child, already named Cole.

“It’s a well-known thing that he dresses his other son kinda like him with cowboy boots and jeans. So, I imagine it was going to be in store for Cole as well,” Wredling said.

Wredling said he has known Johnson since he was a child and wanted to do something to help his family deal with the sudden loss. He said Johnson was the primary breadwinner, and the last thing his wife should worry about is money.

The GoFundMe for Johnson raised over $30,000 in just one day.

“It’s great. People are just so generous and he would be the first one to donate to something like this himself. So, I think things like that come back when you treat people right your whole life and have people’s back that it comes back,” said Wredling. “I’m not surprised at all.”

Wredling said Johnson was a man of faith who didn’t know a stranger. He said friends and family will celebrate his life after the baby is born.

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