Farmingdale car crash victim taken off life support at NUMC after tests determined no brain activity

A 23-year-old Farmingdale man, who had remained in a coma since a car crash nearly three weeks ago, was taken off life support Wednesday night at Nassau University Medical Center, a family member said.

The family of Anthony Romeo Gestone had been unable to transfer him to another medical facility and long-delayed neurological tests determined he was brain dead, his uncle, Joseph Hauser, said. He was taken off life support at 8:19 p.m.

On Tuesday, an agreement was reached in Nassau County State Supreme Court in Mineola that provided the family 24 hours — until 5 p.m. Wednesday — to secure his transport to another medical facility. 

But if the family failed to facilitate the move — which would have been arranged, funded and implemented exclusively by the Gestones — then NUMC would be permitted to conduct neurological tests to determine whether he can be declared brain dead, according to a court order signed by Supreme Court Justice Donald X. Clavin Jr. 

The family originally planned to transport Gestone to New Beginnings, a Wading River nonprofit that provides long-term outpatient rehabilitation services to survivors of traumatic brain injury. 

But Hauser said Wednesday that they determined New Beginnings was not a "viable option" while also expressing concern whether his nephew was stable enough to survive transport. Allyson Scerri, founder of New Beginnings, did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

NUMC contacted more than a dozen medical facilities to explore potential transfer options for Gestone, but each declined, officials said. 

Once the neurological tests, conducted Wednesday evening, determined that Gestone had no brain activity, the family was given one hour to pay their final respects before he was removed from life support, the court order had said.

"Our thoughts are with the family during this profoundly difficult time," the hospital said in a statement. "Over the past several weeks, we have witnessed their deep love and unwavering commitment to Anthony. We are grateful to the clinicians and staff at Nassau University Medical Center for their professionalism, compassion, and dedication in caring for him."

Gestone was driving south on Wantagh State Parkway on April 9 when he crossed over the center median into the northbound lanes and struck a tree, family and friends said.

First responders extricated Gestone from the vehicle and rushed him to NUMC, a public hospital with a Level 1 trauma center, where surgeons removed part of his skull and diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury.

He sustained intracranial bleeding, brain swelling and the midline of his brain shifted "massively," wrote Dr. Ryan Senese, a trauma surgeon who has been treating Gestone, in an April 28 affidavit. Gestone, who also suffered spinal cord trauma and two collapsed lungs, has remained in a coma ever since.

On April 10, NUMC's treatment team determined that Gestone met the criteria for neurological brain death and sought to conduct an apnea or brain perfusion test to verify that conclusion, records show.

But Angelique Gestone, Anthony's mother, objected to the tests, arguing they violated her religious beliefs as a devout Christian while also pleading for her son to have additional time to regain brain function.

Last week, the family secured a temporary restraining order preventing NUMC from conducting the tests until Anthony was examined by a private neurologist. The results of that examination, family members said, were inconclusive.

While family members told Newsday they believed Gestone was showing signs of improvement, his doctors determined he had irreversible brain damage.

On Wednesday evening, nearly two dozen of Gestone's friends and family gathered in the parking lot of the East Meadow hospital to share stories and provide the family support.

"He’s always making everybody laugh, no matter the circumstance," said Antonina Galasso, 23, of Massapequa Park, who has known Gestone since they both attended Weldon E. Howitt Middle School in Farmingdale. " He’s always focused on making everybody else in brighter spirits."

Following a stint studying construction engineering technology at Alfred State College in upstate New York and an apprenticeship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Gestone aspired to become an elevator mechanic, Galasso said. Since he was 13, Gestone has worked at his family's window and door company, according to his grandfather, William Hauser.

Gestone was an avid hiker, enjoyed horseback riding, attended First Baptist Church of Patchogue on Sundays and aspired to become a husband and father, friends said.

“He’s such a likable person,” another friend, Heather Day, 21, of Farmingdale, said. “He would do anything to make anyone laugh.”

The oldest of four brothers, Gestone was a "caretaker" and "protector," Galasso said. Once, as they walked together through the snow, Gestone gave her the flannel shirt off his back to keep her warm, she said.

"He always looked out for his mom," Galasso said of Gestone. "Even with his friends, he was like a big brother. ... He was the person you could count on."

An online crowdfunding campaign, established to help the family and cover mounting medical expenses, has raised almost $110,000.

Newsday's Nicholas Grasso contributed to this story.