BEDFORD HIGH SCHOOL
Senior varsity football player killed by crash in township
Life-support is removed after at least 4 surgeries
10/25/2013
Durbin.
TEMPERANCE — Bedford High School is mourning the loss of Colton Durbin, 17, a senior who played defensive back on its varsity football team.
The Durbin youth was taken off life support Thursday, a day after the car he drove struck the rear of a garbage truck on Samaria Road east of Secor Road.
The youth underwent at least four surgeries at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, where he was admitted in critical condition after being flown there from the accident scene. The driver of the garbage truck, Brian J. Miller, 38, of Temperance, was not injured.
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The team’s Web site stated his parents, Mark and Mary Jo Colton, as well as his sisters, Alexa and Jenna, were “overwhelmed by the love and support our community and others have shown.”
The Bedford Football Moms page on Facebook had discussion of the tragedy. An unattributed post issued thanks “to our Bedford extended family for the outpouring of support during this incredibly difficult time.”
Another post made by a Temperance woman, stated that “the life of Colton Durbin now also needs to be celebrated.”
“The joy he brought others, the laughter, the part he played on the Bedford High School football team and in the life of the school and community needs to be recognized with gratitude and adoration,” the post read. “I can be sure that God is doing nothing but smiling at how wonderfully this community is coming together to offer love, support, and comfort.”
School events scheduled for Thursday night were canceled. An evening vigil was held in the football stadium.
Superintendent Mark Kleinhans said counselors were available for students.
“We are very saddened by the tragic loss of one of our students. Our thoughts, prayers, and hearts go out to his entire family,” read a district statement issued by the superintendent’s office.
Young Durbin is the second Bedford High School student to die from injuries suffered in a traffic accident in the township in just over a month.
On Sept. 21, Kelsey Koepfler, a freshman, died after being struck by a minivan while she was walking along Whiteford Center Road, just north of the Michigan-Ohio line. She was pronounced dead at Toledo Hospital.
Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com or 419-724-6079.