‘Swamp People’: What Happened to Dusty Crum? His Leg Injury & More

Dusty “Wildman” Crum puts his life on the line as a python hunter, but it was a 2021 car accident that nearly killed him and left him with a leg injury that took months to heal.

The snake hunter has appeared on Swamp People and its spinoff Swamp People: Serpent Invasion. Scroll down for a refresher on what happened to his leg, as well as more information about what he’s up to now.

What happened to Dusty Crum’s leg?

In November 2021, Dusty injured his leg in a “really bad accident,” according to a GoFundMe page. He was in a “bad car wreck” that occurred when he was driving home late one night after helping a friend move his mechanic shop.

“The truck he was a passenger in lost control after a tire blow-out on the trailer,” the GoFundMe description says. “The vehicle and trailer flipped three times causing severe injury to his lower right leg and knee. Dusty was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital where he faces a long road of surgery, recovery, and rehab.”

The story described Dusty’s injuries as “severe,” and noted that paramedics were “astonished that he survived.”

Dusty Crum/Facebook

Dusty underwent multiple surgeries, according to the Herald Tribune. The snake hunter is credited with saving his own life after placing a tourniquet on his leg, which “prevented him from bleeding out.”

After the crash, Dusty told TMZ that he nearly lost his leg. He revealed that his leg went out a broken window and was crushed by the truck when it flipped. Luckily, he was able to pull his leg back inside, but he remained hospitalized and in rehab for weeks. Dusty was able to keep his leg after extensive rehab, although he has extensive scarring.

What is Dusty Crum doing now?

Dusty is still a python hunter in the Everglades. Per his History Channel bio, “These days, Dusty hunts solo and he likes it that way. The money he makes from his python hunts support his simple life on the few acres of land he owns in the middle of the vast Everglades. But, even if there was no paycheck, Dusty would catch pythons for free.”

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As for his purpose for catching pythons, Dusty says he wants to give the wildlife in the Everglades a chance at surviving. “Dusty believes it is his purpose to even the playing field, by removing as many pythons as possible,” his website says. “Thus giving the native animals a chance at survival. After all this their home and the python is nothing more than an unwanted guest that refuses to leave.”

Is Dusty Crum in a relationship?

Yes, Dusty has been in a relationship with Natalee McKinney, a fellow python hunter, for years. The two are not married, but are in a long-term relationship for more than a decade.

Natalee appeared alongside Dusty in episodes of Guardians of the Blades. In a 2017 interview with The Observer, Dusty revealed that Natalee got him “hooked” on orchids because she worked in a greenhouse. “I got interested in the science end of it,” he explained. This prompted him to start his wholesale orchid business, Orchid Envy.

It was also Natalaee who got Dusty hooked on python hunting. He revealed that she heard about the python challenge in 2013 and asked him, “If you want to be a man, anybody can hunt hogs. Why don’t you hunt one of these pythons?”

Swamp People, Wednesdays, 8/7c, History Channel