Tennessee boy, 10, swept into storm drain became organ donor, dad says
Asher was severely injured on May 8, 2024, after a severe weather outbreak in Tennessee when he was swept into a storm drain in his neighborhood. (Jimmy Sullivan / Facebook)
A 10-year-old boy from Tennessee who died after being swept into a storm drain donated his organs, his family said on social media.
Asher Sullivan and other kids were playing in the water as neighbors picked up storm debris following severe thunderstorms on May 8 when Asher became caught in a storm drain and was pulled under the street.
He was pulled out, and life-saving efforts were administered, according to the boy's father, Jimmy Sullivan, who is the superintendent of Rutherford County Schools.
Asher had been at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, where teams attempted to treat his severe brain injury due to a lack of oxygen to his brain.
Sullivan shared an emotional update on Saturday, saying his 10-year-old son "officially passed away" 10 days after the event. Sullivan said while speaking with doctors a few rooms away from Asher, his vitals crashed, and his one remaining brain stem reflex was gone.
"Our sweet boy did what Asher has always done, he put others first. No longer did Kaycee and I have to make an impossible decision," Sullivan wrote. "Instead, he made it for us while we were out of the room."
RELATED: Boy swept into neighborhood storm drain: "Asher needs a miracle"
Asher remained on life support because his family decided to donate his organs.
Monday evening, Sullivan posted on Facebook that Asher "gave the gift of life" to four others.
"He will live on in them," he wrote.
He said that was the hardest day so far as they took Asher on his honor walk for organ donation.
"We walked him through the fifth floor and to the elevators that go down to the OR," he said.
Sullivan previously said being an organ donor is "100% an ‘Asher’ type of thing to do in continuing to be selfless."
On the day of Asher's accident, parts of Rutherford County were under a rare Tornado Emergency – the most extreme warning from the National Weather Service – after a tornado was spotted near Eagleville.
The same severe weather event caused a lightning strike that started a deadly house fire and claimed three lives, including a child and a pregnant woman in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.
This story was reported from Detroit. FOX Weather contributed.