A California man who lost his pregnant wife in a drugged-driving crash nearly saw history repeat itself when his expectant girlfriend was rear-ended on a Los Angeles freeway, authorities and family members said. Emergency responders took the woman to a hospital, where doctors found the unborn child was unharmed and the mother sustained only soreness and back pain.
James Alvarez, who in 2020 was walking with his then-35-week-pregnant wife, Yesenia Lisette Aguilar, when a driver high on a cocktail of drugs plowed into them, said he feared he was reliving that nightmare after the Aug. 29 freeway collision in Sylmar. Aguilar, then 23, died of her injuries; doctors delivered her daughter, Adalyn Rose, by emergency cesarean section and the baby survived.
Alvarez said he and his current partner, Sabrina Ramos, had been driving home from dinner in separate cars on the 14 Freeway and were on speaker phone when he heard an impact and heard her cry out that she had been hit. Alvarez told ABC7 that the force of the collision pushed her vehicle into his. First responders arrived and determined Ramos needed hospital treatment.
At the hospital, doctors performed an ultrasound and checked Ramos’ back; Alvarez said the medical staff told him the baby was healthy and "still kicking." Ramos was treated for soreness and back pain and was expected to recover, he said.
Alvarez, who has raised his daughter Adalyn since Aguilar’s death, said the new pregnancy was a blessing but the recent crash brought back painful memories. He described the feeling of watching his girlfriend being taken away by emergency personnel and not knowing whether the baby or Ramos would be all right.
“Literally, I was stuck in the same situation of seeing my girlfriend being taken away and I couldn't be with her and not knowing if the baby is OK, if she is OK,” Alvarez told ABC7. “For me, it was just like, I don't want to go through this pain again and lose someone who means a lot to me.”
Five years earlier, on a sidewalk in Anaheim, investigators said driver Courtney Pandolfi was under the influence of drugs including cocaine and methamphetamine when she struck Alvarez and Aguilar. Aguilar succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital; the infant survived. Pandolfi later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, a felony count of driving under the influence of a drug causing injury, and several related misdemeanor and drug charges, and remained jailed as the case was prepared for sentencing.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer described Pandolfi’s actions at the time as "beyond shocking" and "absolutely reprehensible," saying the crash was "100 percent preventable" and lamenting that a young mother was dead and her child would grow up without her.
Alvarez has sought to preserve the memory of his late wife. He has said he honors Aguilar each year on Adalyn’s birthday by dressing the child in a pink dress similar to the one Aguilar wore for a maternity photo shoot and recreating the photos at the same location.
Local authorities continue to investigate the most recent freeway collision, according to ABC7. The Daily Mail contacted the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Highway Patrol for comment but had not received replies.
Adalyn Rose, now five years old, recently started kindergarten, and Alvarez said he and his daughter are looking forward to meeting the new baby. He said the pregnancy with Ramos was an unexpected gift after the earlier tragedy and that the family is grateful the recent crash did not cause lasting harm.