Uber driver shot in Harrison County shares her story
Linda Buford, an Uber driver on the Coast, was shot last month and shares her story and progress since the incident.
It was another Friday night working a side job to try to make ends meet for Linda Buford, or so she thought.
Buford owned a small fitness center called Cycology, primarily focused to help women. When COVID hit, the fitness instructor, along with the center, struggled financially. Buford worked multiple side hustles to make ends meet.
On January 20th, Buford said she was shot by 17-year-old Trinyell Coats Jr. while working a shift with Uber. She picked up Coats in an area she never takes, but with her acceptance rate dropping, she was forced to take it. “I’m like oh don’t do it and I just hit the button and I accepted it and then I said Linda just get your stuff and get out of that area and I picked him up. He didn’t speak. Always I look in the rear-view mirror or look at them, say hey and I didn’t look at him. Somehow my heart knew it was bad decision.”
The car used to be Buford’s favorite car, but now it’s still hard for the driver to use, especially since the bullet hole from that night is still visible and brings back traumatic memories. “It went like this boom, that’s how fast it was. When you’re sitting like that, how it went. It makes sense see. I mean literally look at the bullet hole.”
As Coats was exiting, he shot Buford in the face and she fled, calling the police while she drove, but the dispatcher could not understand her so she pulled into Rouses parking lot off Pass Road looking for help.
She was flown to University Medical Center in New Orleans for multiple surgeries and a temporary feeding tube. “Everything is harder, but you know I start my day counting my blessings because if I didn’t that would just be wrong. I’m so thankful, so thankful I’m okay and I’m going to live and everything is going to be fixed. It just takes time. Doctors are like we don’t get it? How you are walking, talking. Everything is harder but who cares, I’ll do whatever it takes to get better and I will.”
“I want to look him in the eyes and ask him what kind of person can feel that way that they just don’t care. Now he is an attempted murderer. Like why would you do that?”
If you would like to help fund Buford, you can donate to her GoFundMe account by clicking here.
