SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK STATE: Long Island teenager Anthony Stinson, who was critically injured when a police cruiser struck him while responding to an emergency, has died.
His family has made the compassionate decision to donate his organs to benefit other children in need.
Anthony had just celebrated his 13th birthday the week before, Claudia Stinson, his distraught mother, said.
Where did the accident happen?
Anthony, an eighth-grade student at William Paca Middle School, had been on life support since the collision occurred at the intersection of William Floyd Parkway and Adobe Drive in Shirley around 7.50 pm on September 9, as confirmed by the Suffolk County Police Department.
After four days, the family made the difficult choice to remove him from the ventilator that had been preserving his organs, as reported by Newsday.
On September 13, doctors from LiveOnNY, a nonprofit organization based in Long Island City, performed the organ donation procedure, providing hope to those awaiting organ transplants.
Stinson sustained a grave head injury in the accident, rendering him braindead, as confirmed by medical professionals.
Where was Anthony Stinson admitted after the accident?
Authorities rushed him to Stony Brook University Hospital in critical condition.
“Children will get healthier and improve their living and life span, thanks to Anthony,” Anthony’s grieving mother said in a statement to Newsday.
“I want this to be an inspiration for the community to think of in the event of the loss of lives,” she said.
The grieving mom continued to speak, clad in her son’s Cincinnati Bengals football jersey and wearing a necklace adorned with the team’s logo, the very attire that Anthony had on the night he was tragically struck.
“I told my son I was so proud of him and his legacy,” she said.
“I said, ‘Anthony, I’m so proud of you helping other kids, your legacy is leaving this earth. I have to let you go free, go fly and watch over all your friends,” she added.
What happened to Anthony Stinson?
The incident involved a Seventh Precinct patrol officer who was traveling south on William Floyd Parkway with emergency lights and sirens activated at the time of the collision.
The officer struck the teenager and also collided with a car stopped in traffic, a tree, and two parked vehicles on Margin Drive West.
It appears that the officer attempted to swerve to avoid the young bicyclist, according to both police reports and a WCBS report.
Authorities have indicated that the police officer had a green light and was responding to a 911 call concerning an elderly woman experiencing a medical emergency when the collision occurred.
On September 14, the New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office announced its intention to investigate the accident, although it did not provide a specific reason for the investigation.
The statement mentioned that the Attorney General’s office has the authority to look into “every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission.”
Claudia Stinson, Anthony’s mother, recounted hearing the crash from her home.
She immediately rushed outside and went to the intersection where she discovered her son in critical condition.
