The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Complications keep child hit by car from further surgery
12-year-old still in medically induced coma after accident.
A child in critical condi- tion after being hit by an out-of-control car — which also killed his best friend — has been unable to undergo multiple surgeries because of medical complications, his family said.
Luke McWilliams remains at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, and he’s having “complications regarding his kidneys and a high-grade fever,” which is preven t ing h im from being stable enough to undergo surgery, according to an update Friday on his GoFundMe page.
On Monday, McWilliams and Braden Stevenson, 12, were searching for a pet ham- ster in Stevenson’s grandmother’s garage on Kirkland Road when a vehicle crashed into it, previously reported. The vehicle ran over McWilliams and pinned Stevenson against a wall.
Stevenson was taken to Piedmont Newton Hospital, where he later died. McWilliams was flown to Egleston, underwent seven hours of initial surgeries and has been in critical condition since.
The GoFundMe page for McWilliams previously said both of his legs were crushed and he suffered severe vascular damage to his femo- ral artery.
During the initial surger- ies, he had “a plate (inserted) from his hip to his knee, pins in both knees, a halo to hold his tibia and femur together and 41 units worth of blood transfusions.”
He was supposed to undergo surgery on Thanks- giving, but his complications in addition to the rate in which he’s losing blood forced doctors to keep him in a medically induced coma, the update said.
A link Stevenson’s GoFundMe page, which is fundraising for funeral costs, can be found at tinyurl.com/ yc6zobvl. A link to McWilliams’ GoFundMe page, which is fundraising for his medical expenses, can be found at www.gofundme. com/6g1t0wg.
As of Friday afternoon, Stevenson’s page had raised more than $11,600, and McWilliams’ page had raised more than $3,300.
Covington police told AJC.com that the Newton County Sheriff ’s Office responded to the incident.
The sheriff ’s office has yet to respond to requests for the incident report, more information about the driver and whether charges are expected to be filed.