Officials said pregnant woman died after being identified, DUI suspected by Anaheim
A 40-year-old Garden Grove woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder in a crash that killed a pregnant woman.
Courtney Pandolfi was booked Wednesday on suspicion of murder, DUI causing bodily injury and driving on a suspended license. She is being held on $1 million bail.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- A woman who was pregnant when she was fatally struck by a DUI suspect in Anaheim has been publicly identified while her baby remained hospitalized Wednesday, authorities said.
Yesenia Lisette Aguilar, 23, walking with her husband near the intersection of Katella Avenue and Bayless Street about 7:30 pm. Tuesday when a white SUV jumped a curb and hit her, according to the Anaheim Police Department. Aguilar's husband was narrowly missed by the vehicle.
Yesenia Aguilar, a Disneyland employee, was 35 weeks pregnant at the time of the collision.
"We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our cast member Yesenia Aguilar and we offer our deepest condolences to her family, friends and loved ones," a spokesperson for the Anaheim resort said in a statement.
Police say Pandolfi was driving under the influence in a Tuesday night crash at Katella Avenue and Bayless Street that killed 23-year-old Yesenia Aguilar of Anaheim. Aguilar was pregnant, and her daughter was delivered via emergency C-section immediately after the crash. The baby remains in critical condition at UCI Medical Center.
The couple were on Katella Avenue getting some exercise. Curtains for the baby’s room was the last thing Alvarez remembers talking about before he heard a car screech and then screams.
“I constantly see it playing out in my head and it’s killing me,” said Alvarez. “It’s killing me because I always look back what could I have done to save her life.”
She had worked at Disneyland and was 35 weeks pregnant.
Doctors were able to save his baby girl. She is stable but the next 72 hours are critical, Alvarez says, to determine whether she has brain damage from the devastating crash.
Now that he is alone, James said he will do his best to be both father and mother to his little girl, Adalyn Rose.
“She’s the last thing I have from her..you know the last thing I have,” he said.
A Gofundme was set up for Aguilar’s family to raise money for both her funeral expenses and the baby’s medical costs.
After the crash, paramedics rushed the gravely injured woman to UCI Medical Center, where a caesarean section was performed to deliver the baby, a police spokesman said. The newborn baby girl was admitted in critical condition to UCI's neonatal intensive care unit.
The identity of the DUI suspect was released Wednesday. She was identified as 40-year-old Garden Grove resident Courtney Pandolfi, who was being held on $1 million bail.
Pandolfi was booked on suspicion of murder, DUI drugs causing bodily injury, and driving with a suspended license, police said. She is expected to appear in court Thursday.
