Kolby's Story
My beautiful son's name is Kolby Crum. He came into this world on May 17th, 2001. Kolby grew to be sweet, kind, caring, and always thinking of others. Many described Kolby as the kindest person they'd ever met.
Kolby attended junior high and high school in Moore. In the 7th grade Kolby wanted to be on a team. He never really had much interest in a lot of sports, but running sparked his interest. He joined the track and cross-country teams and grew to love it. He spent many days and nights practicing. He would run rain or shine.
His senior year of high school he was offered a scholarship to run in college. he couldn't have been more excited. All of his hard work had paid off. He planned to pursue a degree in Psychology.
On February 3, 2020, our world came crashing down. Kolby's hard work and his dreams were taken away. Kolby and eleven of his teammates were out on a run during track practice. A man driving a Ford F-250, with alcohol in his system, accelerated to nearly 80 miles per hour in the neighborhood by the high school. He drove up onto the sidewalk that the students were running on and sped through them. Several students were severely injured and three passed away. Kolby was one of the students killed.
Kolby spent twelve days in the intensive care unit of the hospital with a severe brain injury. On February 15, 2020, Kolby passed away from his injuries. Our family was devastated. How were we to live without our sweet Kolby? The grace of God and knowing Kolby was in heaven gave us strength.
Kolby left a legacy of kindness and of helping others. We learned after his passing that Kolby chose to be an organ donor. We honored his wish and he saved two people through organ donation. I made a promise to Kolby after his passing that I would continue his legacy of kindness and helping others. I do random acts of kindness around the Moore area in honor of Kolby. I'm a speaker with GP Impact Panel to bring awareness of drinking and driving. I also volunteer and promote organ donation with LifeShare of Oklahoma. I encourage donations in honor of Kolby, and I encourage everyone to register to be an organ donor.