Greatly Obese Man Succumbs At Age 54

Sylvanus “Hambone” Smith III, who had to be loaded into a truck with a forklift when he went to a hospital in an attempt to shed some of his 1,000 pounds, is dead at age 54.

Smith died Wednesday night at home in the bed where he’d spent most of the last four years.

He lost about 300 pounds during a six-month hospital stay last year, but regained it after returning home, his father said Thursday.

Smith’s health problems - including obesity, hypertension and diabetes - all contributed to his death, Tift County Coroner Joseph Beaumont said.