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Jenna Laine, ESPN Staff Writer
TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have donated $10,000 to the family involved in a car accident on their way to the Bucs’ Nov. 4 “Monday Night Football” game at the Kansas City Chiefs. The accident killed Connor Barba, 18, of Norman, Oklahoma, and seriously injured his mother, Megan Barnett.
Barnett surprised her son with tickets ahead of his birthday so he could see his favorite player, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, who said through a Bucs spokesperson that he and his wife Emily plan to reach out to the family.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to Megan and her family as they deal with this heartbreaking loss,” Mayfield said in a statement. “I am honored and humbled knowing that Connor was such a big fan. I would have loved to have met him. As a new parent, this really hits home for me. I realize there are no words that can provide true comfort at a time such as this, but I hope that Megan makes a full recovery and that she draws strength from the outpouring of support she is receiving from around the country.”
Barba’s uncle Collin Barnett told “Good Morning America,” “He was a football fan in general and a big-time Baker fan. He wanted to see Baker play. It was just going to be a great game.”
The accident happened in Montgomery County, Kansas — about 170 miles southwest of Kansas City — just before 4 p.m. Nov. 2, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. For unknown reasons, a 2014 Chevy Camaro veered into the other lane of a two-lane road and hit Barba, who was driving, and Barnett head-on. Police said the other driver, Joseph Savage, of Coffeyville, Kansas, was also killed.
Collin Barnett also told “Good Morning America” that Barba’s quick actions likely saved his mother’s life.
“We were told that the [other car] was in Connor’s lane, and Connor swerved, [and] that he hit the brakes tremendously hard and got Megan out of the way,” Collin Barnett said. “He took the full impact and was kind of heroic in that.”
Barnett is currently in the ICU at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to a GoFundMe set up by her employer.