A pregnant woman just a few weeks shy of her due date was killed along with her unborn daughter when a suspected drunk driver crashed into their car head-on in California over the weekend.
Nicole Ruddy, 33, who was 35 weeks pregnant, was sitting in the front passenger seat of a Toyota Carolla heading north along Highway 495 when a Ford Explorer drove into oncoming traffic and slammed into her vehicle around 11:40 p.m. Saturday, Fox 11 reported.
First responders rushed the pregnant woman to an area trauma center, where both she and her unborn daughter, whom she planned to name Amelia Grace, were pronounced dead, according to KTLA.
The expectant mom’s husband, 36-year-old Andrew Ruddy, was also in the car and suffered extensive injuries that reportedly required surgery.
The suspect, 43-year-old Eddie Escobedo, survived the collision and was also taken to a local trauma center to be treated for “major injuries,” the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said.
Escobedo faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI, authorities said.
“During the investigation, deputies determined Escobedo was under the influence of alcohol and over the California legal limit at the time of the crash,” investigators said.
Escobedo was later discharged from the hospital and booked into the county jail, where he remained Wednesday in lieu of $600,000 bail. He is due back in court Thursday.
The description of a GoFundMe campaign that was launched to help the victims’ family praised Nicole “as a loving, compassionate, kind person who touched the lives of many people.”
According to the organizer of the fundraiser, the married mom-to-be ran a small business as a wedding planner and often volunteered at her local church.
