Pregnant woman killed after getting struck by suspected DUI driver, baby survives after being removed from womb
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: A pregnant woman was fatally struck by a car while walking on an Anaheim sidewalk with her husband on Tuesday, authorities said. Anaheim police Sgt. Shane Carringer told KTLA that the baby was removed from the mother's womb and is currently being treated. He said the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was believed to be 35 weeks pregnant. Dispatch received a call around 7:37 pm reporting a traffic collision involving a speeding vehicle and a pedestrian near Bayless Street and Katella Avenue, east of Euclid Street, Sgt. Jon Yepes of the Anaheim Police Department said. The vehicle, described as a white Jeep, reportedly jumped the curb and struck the pregnant woman who was walking alongside her husband on the sidewalk.
Police said the unidentified woman was rushed to the UC Irvine Medical Center, but was pronounced dead shortly after despite the doctors' best efforts. The victim was only 23 years old, according to the Los Angeles Times. Officials said her husband escaped without any injuries.
Meanwhile, the woman driving the Jeep was transported to a hospital with minor to moderate injuries and was suspected to be under the influence. Police records showed she has two prior DUIs and was driving the vehicle with a suspended license. The suspect was later identified as 40-year-old Courtney Pandolfi of Garden Grove. “I heard a loud boom…” said witness David Orosco. “I run over there and I see there’s a lady on the ground…it looked like her head was banged up. The husband was, I think, checking her pulse and when he checked, he screamed,” he added.
Authorities cordoned off the area of Katella Avenue between Euclid Street and Ninth Street as they examined the scene. That said, anyone with related information is urged to contact the department at 714-765-1900.
In May, a pregnant woman was involved in a horrific car crash in Philadelphia, Pa. which saw a suspected DUI driver slam into the vehicle she was riding in, killing her boyfriend and unborn child instantly. Authorities revealed 42-year-old Charles Smith was high on PCP and under the influence of alcohol when he was speeding across the 4900 block of Whitaker Avenue around 10 pm on May 13, reaching over 100 mph on the odometer. The driver ultimately crashed into an SUV that was occupied by Kimberly Hartz, who was five months pregnant, and her boyfriend Tony O'Connor. Police noted the crash claimed the lives of O'Connor as well as Hartz's unborn child. In a conversation with ABC 6 from her hospital bed, Hartz said she and Tony were high school sweethearts and had been together for four years. Van Newman, Hartz's father, added that his daughter has had to have a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus) because of her injuries - after waiting till the age of 30 to have her first child. Speaking from his home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Newman noted how she had waited until she was older to have children so they could have the best life possible.
Smith, the reckless driver behind the crash, was found to have been in and out of jail on drug charges since 1997. He was charged with murder, homicide by vehicle while DUI, among other related offenses. Authorities revealed that Smith was with a female passenger at the time of the crash. Both escaped without injuries.