Mother removed from life support
Arlington, Va. A brain-dead woman who was kept alive for three months so she could deliver the baby she was carrying was removed from life support Wednesday and died, a day after giving birth.
“This is obviously a bittersweet time for our family,” Justin Torres, the woman’s brother-in-law, said in a statement.
Susan Torres, a cancer-stricken, 26-year-old researcher at the National Institutes of Health, suffered a stroke in May after the melanoma spread to her brain. Her family decided to keep her alive to give her baby a chance.
Torres gave birth to a daughter, Susan Anne Catherine Torres, by Caesarean section Tuesday. The baby was about two months premature and weighed 1 pound, 13 ounces. Dr. Donna Tilden-Archer, the hospital’s director of neonatology, described the baby as “very vigorous.”
Doctors removed Torres from life support Wednesday with the consent of her husband, Jason Torres, after she received the final sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church.
“We thank all of those who prayed and provided support for Susan, the baby and our family,” Jason Torres said in a statement. “We especially thank God for giving us little Susan. My wife’s courage will never be forgotten.”
Depression upgraded to eighth major storm
Miami A depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Harvey on Wednesday as it slowly approached Bermuda, forecasters said.
Harvey, the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, had top sustained winds of about 60 mph, up from 40 mph earlier Wednesday.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said there was a small chance Harvey could become a hurricane – with sustained winds of at least 74 mph – when its center passes near Bermuda this morning.
Teenagers accused of impersonating cops
El Monte, Calif. Police have arrested two teenagers who they say impersonated officers and pulled over at least two motorists while sounding a siren and flashing emergency lights they had purchased on eBay.
The investigation was triggered when a motorist called police to report that a male who had pulled him over appeared to be too young to be a police officer.
A similar incident was reported by other residents in El Monte, just east of downtown Los Angeles, which led to the arrest of a 15-year-old from nearby La Puente. Monday, a 17-year-old from El Monte was arrested. A search of the 15-year-old’s home uncovered police uniforms and baseball caps with the word “police” on them. Police said the youths added police-style emergency lights they had purchased over the Internet to a white, two-door sedan.
The teens were charged with impersonating a peace officer and were released to their parents.