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Long Island Crash Victim Removed From Life Support After Court-Ordered Brain-Death Tests

A court-imposed 24-hour deadline forced the family to weigh a risky transfer against hospital brain-death testing.

Overview

  • Anthony Gestone, 23, was removed from life support Wednesday night after Nassau University Medical Center tests found no brain activity.
  • The family could not arrange a transfer by the judge’s 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline, which triggered the hospital’s neurological testing.
  • The court order required the family to handle and fund any transport and allowed a one-hour farewell if doctors declared legal brain death.
  • Relatives had opposed testing on religious grounds, citing a private neurologist’s inconclusive exam and reported hand squeezes they saw as hopeful signs.
  • NUMC’s team said there was no viable brain function, while New Beginnings’ medical director disputed that he met brain-death criteria, underscoring how apnea and brain-perfusion scans are used to make legal death determinations.