Garland Firefighter Devon Colbert 'Paying It Forward'
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Devon Colbert got hired on with the Garland Fire Department in September of 2011. He loved the camaraderie and brotherhood he found there. Then there came the day when his life changed.
"I had just gotten off shift and getting ready to go do some Christmas shopping, and that's when the accident happened" said Firefighter Devon Colbert.
Devon was traveling westbound on Highway 66 in Garland, a driver in a 2009 Infiniti pulled out and clipped the back of Devon's Toyota Four Runner.
"The car clipped me, lost control, rolled three times and broke my neck" Devon recalled.
Devon was paralyzed immediately. The men he worked with at the Garland Fire Department responded to the accident and never left his side.
"They took care of my wife, they made sure she had everything for Christmas. They worked for me for two years while I did all my physical therapy and got strong enough to come back to work" Devon remembered.
The firefighters started The Firefighter Ball to raise money for Devon and Emily. Following that Devon's wife Emily took the reins and created the Colbert Project to help other firefighters in need.
"The goal is to raise funds for firefighters and their families who are injured or become ill, kind of like what we needed" Devon said.
JD Ryan is Around Town with this story of strength and family in the face of crisis.
Details: Team Devon on Facebook
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