A man who had already overcome a problem with his heart after having a transplant, met a more horrifying tragedy hours later.
The scene of the ambulance crash
James Larson, a heart and kidney transplant patient has been killed in an ambulance horror crash just hours after undergoing the life-saving operation.
Mr Larson, 36, was being transported to a rehabilitation facility yesterday after awaking from the long-awaited surgery at a nearby hospital .
But as the ambulance he was in travelled down a highway, it slammed into an overpass, killing him and the driver, 55-year-old Larry Fuller.
ABC reports that another medic in the vehicle, Renato Endrada, was rushed to hospital with a broken leg and concussion after the crash in New York, US.
At the time of the tragedy, Mr Larson was being driven from Mount Sinai Hospital to Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility in Uniondale to recover from his operation.
It was the first time he had left the hospital in 15 months, his grief-stricken relatives told Newsday.
The crash occurred at around noon yesterday on the Southern State Parkway in West Hempstead, Nassau County.
The impact left the front of the ambulance severely damaged. It is believed the vehicle did not have its lights or sirens on at the time.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, but police have said no other vehicles were involved.
An investigation is ongoing.