The 5th Quarter

The 2010 drama movie The 5th Quarter is a film based on the true story which was set around the events of a Wake Forest football team in the 2006 season. The movie was directed, written, and produced by Rick Bieber and was based on the life and death of Luke Abbate. The film stars Ryan Merriman, Andie McDowell, Aidan Quinn, and Andrea Powell. The film was released on March 25, 2010, but was supposedly taken place in the year of 2006 when Luke Abbate passed away.

In February of 2006, a teenage boy Luke Abbate, rode in a car driven by his friend to drop him home from his high school team's practice. In a major case of reckless and irresponsible teenage driving, along with the objections of Abbate and other passengers, the young driver accidentally lost control of his car at almost 90 miles-per-hour. This caused the vehicle to spin off a very narrow road to land them in an embankment around seventy feet below. Abbate suffered an irreparable brain damage, then passed away at the hospital about 2 days after his arrival. He passed away just 4 days before his 16th birthday, making many family members feel sad that he didn't turn 16 while on Earth.

Luke suffered severe head trauma along with various broken bones. The rest of the teens inside the vehicle except for Zack Barnett were injured and hospitalized. The doctor then declared Luke to be completely brain dead the very next day. When Luke's mother told her family about bringing Luke to get his permit at the DMV 3 months ago, he asked about organ donation and what it was. She then explained what it was, and he said that he would like to give his organs to others. When he passed, they gave his organs away to those in need of them. The movie continues to show that his family was willing to share what their young child Luke had to offer.