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18-year-old dies in accident on the way to Kansas City Chiefs game
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18-year-old dies in accident on the way to Kansas City Chiefs game

An Oklahoma community is mourning the loss of an “exceptional young man” who died in a car accident before the last Kansas City Chiefs game.

Connor Barba, an 18-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma, was “shocked” when his mother told him they were going to the Monday night football matchup between the Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, surprising him with tickets to celebrate his birthday, according to a GoFundMe established in the name of his family.

However, while they were still in southeastern Kansas, the family trip ended in tragedy when Connor and his mother Megan Barnett were involved in a collision on Saturday, November 2. according to ABC affiliate KOCO-TV.

According to a Kansas Highway Patrol accident reportA Chevrolet Camaro traveling in the southbound lane crossed the center “for an unknown reason” before colliding with the family’s vehicle traveling in the northbound lane.

Connor died as a result of the crash, as did the 45-year-old driver of the Camaro, identified by police as Joseph Savage of Coffeyville.

Megan, 41, was seriously injured in the crash and is currently in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to GoFundMe, which has raised more than $90,000.

The accident occurred on US 169 near Cherryvale just before 4 p.m. ABC affiliate KAKE-TV reported.

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Colin Barnett, Connor’s uncle, told the outlet that “Connor swerved to the right in a certain direction and slammed on the brakes as hard as he could.”

“When Connor did that, he took the full brunt of the (Camaro),” he added, sharing that he believed those actions likely saved the boy’s mother.

The boy’s uncle told KOCO that the teen “really wanted to see baker mayfield play” while his mother “wanted to watch the Chiefs” and was probably hoping to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift cheering up her boyfriend Travis Kelce.

“He was an exceptional young man,” Connor’s uncle continued. “She had a lot of light. She had incredible joy and an incredible smile.”