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Skylar Marion (15) died following a hit-and-run incident and his heart was donated to his best friend
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Published: Jul 28, 2014 @ 7:47 PM
Skylar Marion (15)
Date:
Apr 12, 2013
Cause of Death:
Hit and Run
Location:
Pasadena, Baltimore
URL:
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A teenager killed in a hit and run crash has saved his best friend's life by donating his heart in a successful transplant operation.
Skylar Marion, 15, was left in a coma after he was ran over by a driver who then fled the scene just a quarter-mile from his home in Pasadena, Baltimore, in April.
His father Mike Marion made the heart-breaking decision to turn off his life-support after discovering his son's best friend Kyle Wilkerson needed a heart transplant.
Kyle suffers from the potentially fatal condition genetic idiopathic cardiomyopathy (DCM) which causes the heart to become weakened and enlarged so it cannot pump blood efficiently. The decreased heart function can affect the lungs, liver, and other body systems.
Kyle had been in hospital since February but was low down on the heart transplant list. When Mr Marion heard of Kyle's plight, he decided to see if his son's organs could help save him.
Incredibly, despite a 30,000 to one chance, the two boys proved to be a match.
Kyle's mother Denise Wilkerson told the Baltimore Sun she is grateful her son will survive but getting the organ through the death of another teenager was 'bittersweet'.
She said: 'It's hard to get a 15-year-old to understand that it's God's plan. No one should die like that.'
Three other people received vital organs from Skylar, while another person will be able to see again with the gift of Skylar's eyes.
Meanwhile Arundel County police are still trying to track down the hit and run driver who knocked down the teenager on April 12.
The families have been jointly fundraising to put up a reward to catch the hit and run driver
The families have been jointly fundraising to put up a reward to catch the hit and run driver
Skylar had left his house with two friends to go to a nearby store when he was struck by a dark-coloured Ford Expedition, 1997 to 2002, which suffered damage to the hood and passenger side in the impact.
Skylar's twin Zachary and his brother Sam, 14, have joined their father in appealing for members of the public to come forward.
Mr Marion said: 'He didn't even have a chance to fight. The person who hit him is just a coward. They're living, they're breathing, they're worried about turning themselves in. Take responsibility. Give Skylar some peace.'
Mountain Road where Skylar was killed has numerous accidents every year because of the lack of any pavements. More than 20 people have been killed along the 11-mile roadway since the early 1990s, many of them in their teens.
Skylar's family are now trying to get this changed.
Related Article(s):
Teenager killed in hit and run saves his best friend's life by donating his heart in organ transplant
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