Teen killed in car crash traveling to KC Chiefs game after mom surprised him with birthday tickets

An Oklahoma teen was killed over the weekend on his way to a Kansas City Chiefs game after his mother surprised him with tickets for his birthday, police and loved ones said.

Connor Barba, 18, and his mother, Megan Barnett, were traveling Saturday on US 169 in Kansas from Norman around 4 p.m. when the driver of a Chevy Camaro heading the opposite direction veered into their lane and plowed head on into the pair’s 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe, the Kansas State Patrol said.

The Camaro then careened back into the southbound lane and struck a 2012 Dodge Ram, authorities said.

The teen was remembered as mature for his age. Facebook / Ted Barba

Barba, who was driving the Hyundai, was pronounced dead at the scene while his mom was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The driver of the Camaro, Joseph Savage, 45, was also killed in the wreckage, state police said.

“Connor swerved right in a way and slammed on the brakes as hard as he could,” said Colin Barnett, who is the teen’s uncle and Megan’s brother, according to KOCO.

“When Connor did that, he took the full brunt of the car of the Camaro.”

The mother-son duo were en route to the Chiefs’ Monday night primetime game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Barnett surprised her son with tickets for his upcoming birthday, their family said in a GoFundMe post.

Colin said both mother and son were excited for the game, in which the Chiefs pulled out a 30-24 win in overtime.

The Kansas City Chiefs played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Monday night. Getty Images

“He really wanted to see (Buccaneers quarterback) Baker Mayfield play, and Megan, I think, wanted to see the Chiefs play, likely the Taylor Swift connection,” Barnett told the station.

Mayfield played college football for the University of Oklahoma Sooners while Swift is dating Chiefs player Travis Kelce.

Barba was remembered as mature for his age and had “a lot of light,” Barnett said.

“He had an incredible amount of joy and an incredible smile. He loved to laugh and joke,” Barnett recalled.