Heartbreaking video shows family's tearful send-off of teen whose organs were donated after being hit by alleged drunk illegal immigrant
Tearful family and friends surrounded the lifeless body of 19-year-old Brady Heiling as doctors wheeled him on a stretcher through a hospital hallway, according to a video posted by his mother, Jen Heiling.
Draped across the front of the gurney was a sign that read 'DONATE LIFE,' a nod to his organ donation.
'Brady Allen Heiling you are soooooo LOVED!…' his mother wrote in the emotional post.
Loved ones bid the teen, who was hooked up to a breathing machine, farewell as they leaned onto his chest and cried out.
Heiling, along with his 'love' Hallie Helgeson, 18, tragically died after an illegal immigrant drunk driver hit them while driving the wrong way on an interstate outside Madison, officials said.
Honduran national Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila, 30, was drunk and driving her SUV the wrong direction on a highway outside Madison when she allegedly struck a vehicle and killed the two teens on July 20, according to police.
Helgeson, who was a passenger in the vehicle, died at the scene, while Heiling, who was behind the wheel, clung to life for five days after he was airlifted from the wreck. He fought through multiple unsuccessful surgeries before succumbing to his injuries.
'Hallie Helgeson and Brady Heiling had their whole lives ahead of them—and they would still be alive today if it weren't for Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila—a criminal illegal alien from Honduras,' DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
'We are weak, weary and heart broken and need to rest,' Jen Heiling posted online following her son's tragic death.
She said she hopes her son's harvested organs can save more lives, according to the West Central Tribune.
The devastating crash wasn't Martinez-Avila's first time getting in trouble behind the wheel.
She already had a drunk driving conviction from November 2020 and has had several other traffic violations since then for driving without a license, speeding, following too closely and inattentive driving, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Martinez-Avila's rap sheet required her to have a special device in her car that blocks it from starting if she has alcohol in her system, according to the local news outlet.
However, she did not have it installed during the fatal collision.
DHS railed against the sanctuary policies in Dane County, where Madison is located.
'Unfortunately, this sanctuary jurisdiction has a history of not honoring ICE arrest detainers often leading to the release of murderers and other heinous criminals,' McLaughlin said.
Martinez-Avila has been charged with two counts of felony vehicular homicide and impaired driving. ICE has since lodged a detainer to take the alleged killer into federal custody and pursue her deportation.
Originally published as Heartbreaking video shows family's tearful send-off of teen whose organs were donated after being hit by alleged drunk illegal immigrant
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