A mixed martial arts fighter is planning to donate the organs of his son after he was pronounced brain dead on Sunday.
Fighter Marcus Kowal’s 1-year-old son was killed after a suspected drunk driver struck the boy in a hit-and-run while he was in his stroller in Hawthorne, California, KTLA reported.
He announced the death of his son, Liam, via his Facebook page on Sunday night. The boy was being pushed in a stroller by a 15-year-old girl when they were both hit by the drunk driver’s vehicle, according to KTLA.
“About an hour ago, our baby was declared brain dead. He tried to fight so hard. He even died at one point but they brought him back. He’s a little fighter,” Kowal said in the post. “Our hearts are broken and there’s a void in my soul but we will get through this.”
When officers arrived at the scene of the accident, they found the child and the teen lying close to the crosswalk.
Hawthorne Police said the child had sustained “internal injuries” before he was taken to Harbor UCLA Medical Hospital. Later, the family made the decision to take the child off life support, according to the police news release.
Police will pursue charges against the drunk driver, Donna Marie Higgins. She was arrested but later posted bail.
Kowal said in an update that he’s going to donate Liam’s organs “so that his little heart can make another child live and another set of parents not have to go through what we have to.”
He added: “We were told that we can donate to someone we know. Therefore, I am writing this post to ask if there is a child out there we know that needs a heart or any other organ. It hurts to write this but Liam loved to share and the person we were going to raise him to be would love to help someone else.”
