A grieving mother whose son died in a car crash while traveling to a Kansas City Chiefs football game has revealed the first heartbreaking words she spoke after waking up in intensive care.
Mother, Megan Barnett, 41, and her son, Connor Barba, of Oklahoma were on their way to the game on what was their first trip together in years, celebrating his 18th birthday, when they were involved in a horrific punch that left Connor dead his life.
His mother remembered very little about the accident, but when she woke up in intensive care her first thoughts were of her son, but she felt like something terrible had happened.
“I was in my room and I don’t remember who I asked, but I just said, ‘Connor didn’t make it, did he?’ Barnett said.
The sickening reality means she is now without her only child after he died at the scene of the accident.
Barnett says she is still coming to terms with what happened and is relying on family, friends and faith to get her through.
“It’s unfair in my opinion, but I’m not going to challenge God’s plan. God had a plan for Connor, and I can’t be mad about it,” Barnett said through tears KOCO. ‘I can’t be angry. I can’t be angry. I know where he is, and to me that’s all that matters,” Barnett said.
“He had that big, huge, bright smile that lit up a room. He was a genuine and friendly person who went out of his way to help everyone.”
Mom, Megan Barnett, woke up in intensive care after a head-on crash and asked, “Connor didn’t make it, did he?” she revealed
The pair were on their way to a Kansas City Chiefs game after Barnett surprised her son with tickets for his 18th birthday.
Connor Barba, 18, of Norman, was driving to Kansas City for a football game with his mother Megan Barnett, 41, when Joseph Savage, 45, crashed into their car in a head-on collision.
Aside from the mental pain, Barnett is healing from a host of physical injuries, including a broken foot, vertebra, ribs, sternum, collarbone and to her face.
After three weeks in the ICU and several operations, she was finally allowed to go home.
‘(Our day out) had to be super fun, super great. We talked about it every day. He was counting down. He was ready to go. ‘Where are we staying? What are we going to do? Have you picked a place to eat yet?’ He was so excited,” Barnett said.
“The last thing I remember is him putting his bag from his truck here in my car. I don’t remember any of it,” she explained.
The fatal accident occurred on a small two-lane country road when a car coming from the opposite direction crossed the center line and crashed head-on into the car Connor and his mother were traveling in.
Connor and the other driver, Joseph Savage, 45, of Coffeyville, Kansas, both died at the scene.
Connor’s uncle Colin said the teenage boy who was driving at the time swerved to avoid Savage’s vehicle and slammed on the brakes, causing his side to take the brunt of the hit.
Colin credits his cousin’s quick thinking as the reason his mother survived.
Megan Barnett was finally allowed to return home after spending three weeks in the ICU and several surgeries
Aside from the mental pain, Barnett, 41, is healing from a host of physical injuries, including a broken foot, vertebra, ribs, sternum, collarbone and to her face
Connor was remembered along with his father as an “excellent young man” who had “a lot of light.”
After the crash, the next thing Barnett remembered was waking up in the intensive care unit in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
A GoFundMe set up for the family has raised more than $133,000.
“I don’t know if I have the words to express my gratitude for people, for people I don’t even know,” Barnett said.
Colin said he will remember Barba as an “excellent young man” who had “a lot of light.”
“He had an incredible amount of joy and an incredible smile,” he told KOCO. “Especially for his age, he was incredibly mature and respectful.”
Barba’s father also posted several photos of his son on Facebook since his passing, writing in one post, “He had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known!” I love you, Connor Barba!!”