ANAHEIM (CNS) - A 40-year-old Garden Grove woman was charged today with second-degree murder for a collision in Anaheim that killed a 23-year-old pregnant woman and left her baby fighting for life.
Courtney Fritz Pandolfi was also charged with a felony count of driving under the influence of a drug causing injury and a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended or revoked license due to a DUI.
The collision occurred just after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on Katella Avenue, near Bayless Street, according to Sgt. Shane Carringer of the Anaheim Police Department.
Yesenia Lisette Aguilar of Anaheim, who was 35 weeks pregnant, was walking on the sidewalk with her husband when a white Jeep SUV jumped the curb and struck her, Carringer said.
Anaheim paramedics rushed the woman to UCI Medical Center, where a caesarean section was performed to deliver the baby, he said.
“The adult pedestrian, an Anaheim resident, was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The newborn baby girl was admitted in critical condition to UCI's neonatal intensive care unit,'' Carringer said.
Pandolfi also was taken to UCI Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, and was subsequently arrested.
Pandolfi was charged with second-degree murder, which carries a possible 15-years to life sentence, instead of voluntary manslaughter, which does not carry a life sentence, because she was previously convicted of DUI and was given a so-called Watson Waiver, which warns DUI offenders that if they get into a deadly collision, they face the upgraded charge of murder.
Pandolfi pleaded guilty on April 24, 2015, to possession of a controlled substance, being under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence of a drug, all misdemeanors.
She pleaded guilty July 8, 2016, to a felony count of identity theft, and misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of a drug, falsely representing herself to an officer, being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance.
Pandolfi's arraignment in the jail courtroom of Santa Ana was rescheduled Thursday until Sept. 4.
As of Thursday afternoon, a GoFundMe page has collected $118,445 of a $250,000 goal for the baby, Adalyn Rose, and her family, to help defray medical and funeral costs.
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