There is a reason why Atlanta hospital officials initially refused to grant Anthony Stokes a heart transplant. The troubled teen, 17, had a thick juvenile rap sheet after frequent run-ins with authorities. But after a spirited social media campaign on his behalf that tugged at the heartstrings of Americans, the hospital relented to the pressure and performed the procedure saved Stokes’ life.
Temporarily.
Now it appears that the hospital officials were right, that the complex and expensive medical procedure was a waste of a heart, and that hospital officials have to believe the organ could have been given to a more deserving subject.
Stokes had the requisite characteristics of a career criminal. Despite his proclamations back then that he was a changed man, he continued down his destructive path and it ultimately cost him his life — and nearly that of an innocent bystander.
Stokes is suspected of breaking into a home and shooting at the owner, an elderly woman, before fleeing the scene. A short time later, he carjacked someone and led police on a high-speed chase down an Atlanta highway, the N.Y. Daily News reports.
Predictably, Stokes lost control of the vehicle he stole and it fishtailed, hit another vehicle and an innocent pedestrian before slamming into a pole. The force of the crash was so fierce that the pole nearly split the car in half. Rescue team had to cut Stokes out of the mangled wreckage before was transported to a nearby hospital.
Stokes was later pronounced dead. The pedestrian is said to be in good condition.
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