Alleged DUI Driver Kills A Pregnant Latina

Twenty-three-year-old Yesenia Lisette Aguilar was preparing to welcome a new life into her life with her husband this year. Last week she was killed by an alleged drunk driver while the couple was walking down a sidewalk in Anaheim, California.

Aguilar and her husband James Alvarez were walking in Anaheim last week when she was struck by an alleged drunk driver.

A Jeep SUV driven by Courtney Pandolfi, aged 40, jumped the curb of a sidewalk and drove along it before hitting Aguilar. The car narrowly missed James who said that when his wife was struck they were holding hands. At the time of her death worked as a cast member at Disneyland and was nearly 35 weeks pregnant.

Soon after the incident, Aguilar was rushed to the hospital at UCI Medical Center. There, doctors declared her dead and then delivered her baby via cesarean section. Currently, Aguilar’s newborn baby girl, Adalyn Rose, is in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. She is in critical condition.

Speaking about his wife’s tragic death, Alvarez told KTLA, “It’s like I’m living a nightmare and I’m hoping to wake up soon. But I’m accepting the reality is she’s gone. And my daughter is the only thing that I have left.”

Pandolfi has been detained on single counts of vehicular manslaughter, felony driving under the influence, and driving on a suspended license.

Pandolfi was also taken to the same hospital but for minor injuries.

Soon after her detainment, Pandolfi’s charges were upgraded to murder and felony driving under the influence of drugs causing bodily injury. According to People, police confirmed that this is not Pandolfi’s first DUI arrest. She has previously been convicted of DUIs in 2008, 2015, and 2016. She is currently being held in Anaheim on a $1 million bail.

Speaking about his wife, Alvarez shared that their newborn had very much been wanted by his wife.

“We’ve been trying for two years, and finally, we’re blessed to have a beautiful princess, and we’re a month away from her birth. And all of a sudden, out of a second, my life changed,” he said. “I’m just praying that she is healthy. She’s the last thing I have from her.”