Jessica Pacheco Calvente
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Jessica Pacheco Calvente (1993 - January 2, 2004) was a Puerto Rican who was one of 23 victims hit by stray bullets in Puerto Rico during the 2003 New Year's eve celebrations. She was the only fatal victim in Puerto Rico that New Year's eve. A four-month-old girl was also hit but not killed.
Pacheco Calvente was a resident of one of San Juan's public residential areas (what is commonly known in the United States as "projects"). She was an elementary school student at Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer school.
At 7:30 p.m. EST (11:30 p.m. GST), Pacheco Calvente was with her mother outside her apartment, getting ready for New Year's eve celebrations, when a stray bullet hit her head. She was taken to a local hospital, where she arrived in a comatose state.
On January 2, doctors declared her brain dead. However, by law, brain dead patients in Puerto Rico must wait at least twelve hours before being taken off life support machines; this is so that they are given a chance to improve. During the next twelve hours, personnel from Lifelink, an organ donation association, approached the Pacheco Calvente family, who agreed to donate Jessica's organs.
Jessica did not show any improvement after the twelve hours, and it was decided to transplant her heart to a sixteen year old girl, who was recuperating after surgery. Pacheco Calvente's other organs were also donated to different patients.
Jessica Pacheco Calvente was buried on January 4, and her mother wrote a letter that was published by El Vocero, asking people to think twice next time before shooting to the air to celebrate.
