UPDATE: Major Accident Closes Highway 80, One Careflighted with Critical Injuries

Don Purdum
Post Editor

Updated December 4, 2008, 5:14 p.m.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, a major accident occurred on Highway 80 that shut down the eastbound lanes for over an hour and sent Collin Buford, an Assistant Manager at Chick-Fil-A, to Parkland Hospital by careflight.

On Thursday morning Forney police said that an SUV Trailblazer was traveling westbound and came across the median, through the cable wiring, directly into eastbound traffic near Premier Sports.

On Thursday afternoon, Chick-Fil-A Store Manager Cameron Parker confirmed that the SUV Buford was driving flipped when it hit the wire barriers in the median, and ended up in the eastbound lanes of Highway 80, hitting a white truck head on, ejecting Buford. Police say the ejection may have saved his life. If he had not been ejected the steering wheel may have crushed his body.

Late Thursday afternoon, the Forney Police Department in a statement said, after being hit by the SUV, "The pickup truck then made contact with an eighteen wheeler tractor and trailer, one source said. A white car at one point made contact with the pickup truck and an eighteen wheeler tractor trailer and then veered left, traveling across the median. It then crossed westbound traffic and came to rest in the ditch on the north side of US Hwy 80."

Buford was careflighted by helicopter to Parkland Hospital, and according to Parker, last night's surgery was successful.

"Collin is undergoing another surgery this afternoon," Parker stated. "Last night, it was amazing to watch over forty people come to Parkland to support him. Many were Chick-Fil-A employees from all over the area that have known Collin and wished to come and offer their support."

Parker further said, "We appreciate all of the prayers and prayer emails from the churches and the community. All day long we have received phone calls and customers coming in asking how Collin is doing. We really appreciate all the community is doing and the prayers lifted up on Collin's behalf."

Over the coming days, Parker said that Chick-Fil-A in Forney will be announcing a fund drive to assist the family with expenses incurred from this incident.

According to the Forney Police Departmeent, the drivers of the pickup truck and white car heading eastbound were transported by ambulance from the scene. Accident investigators are waiting for status reports on the drivers that were transported.

The driver of the eighteen wheeler tractor trailer was not transported for any injuries.