Vigil planned today at Bedford High School for teen who died from crash injuries
10/24/2013TEMPERANCE -- A 7 p.m. vigil is planned today inside the Bedford High School football stadium on behalf of Colton Durbin, a 17-year-old senior and a defensive back for the school’s varsity football team who died late this afternoon.
A Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center spokesman said the hospital listed the time of death as 4:23 p.m.
Colton's family made the decision to take him off life support hours earlier, one day after the car he was driving collided with 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.
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 people discussing the tragedy.
An unattributed post issued thanks “to our Bedford extended family for the outpouring of support during this incredibly difficult time.”
Another one of the most popular posts, 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 tonight were canceled. An evening vigil was planned inside 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,” according to a statement issued on behalf of the district by Stacey Langton, the superintendent’s administrative assistant.
Colton is the second Bedford High School to die from injuries suffered in a Bedford Township traffic accident this fall.
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.