BOULDER, Colo.—A teen who received two heart transplants as a child has died after his car ran off Colorado 119 and struck an embankment and a large rock.
The father of Monarch High School graduate Darin Weidert said the 17-year-old died of a heart attack Friday while driving in Boulder Canyon.
The official cause of death was pending investigation. The State Patrol said it was investigating whether drugs or a medical condition caused the accident.
Ed Weidert said his son’s second heart transplant was beginning to fail.
“Last night, his heart just gave out,” Ed Weidert said Saturday. “He was a good kid. He had a big heart.”
Ed Weidert said his son was diagnosed with seven congenital heart defects at birth and received a new heart three months later. After developing coronary artery disease from the transplant, he received another heart in 1996.
Darin recovered well, but during a checkup last year, the family learned Darin had 65 percent of a major artery blocked in his heart, Ed Weidert said.
“We knew we were in a bad situation, again,” he said. “Unfortunately, this time we didn’t have the time necessary to do any further work.”
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Information from: Daily Camera,
