NEED TO KNOW
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A community in Australia is in mourning after a pregnant woman was struck and killed during a two-car collision on Nov. 14
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The 33-year-old pregnant woman was walking along a street in the Sydney suburb of Hornsby with her husband and 3-year-old child when a car stopped to let the family cross, and another vehicle struck that car from behind
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A 19-year-old man has since been charged with negligent driving and causing the loss of fetus, among other charges
A community in Australia is in mourning after a pregnant woman was struck and killed during a two-car collision — and a 19-year-old has now been charged with negligent driving.
According to 7News, News.com.au and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), police in New South Wales said that the 33-year-old pregnant woman was walking along a street in the Sydney suburb of Hornsby at around 8 p.m. local time on Friday, Nov. 14, with her husband and 3-year-old child.
Assistant Commissioner David Driver said that a Kia slowed down to let the family cross in front of them near the entrance of a parking garage when a white BMW allegedly struck the Kia from behind.
“As a result of that crash, the Kia impacted with a 33-year-old female,” Driver explained during a press conference. “As a result of that impact, she’s now deceased, and very sadly, she was also eight months pregnant, and her unborn child has also died.”
The BMW was being driven by a 19-year-old man, and a 48-year-old man was driving the Kia. Neither car had any other passengers.
Both drivers were taken to nearby Hornsby Hospital for mandatory testing, and the outlets reported that neither man sustained injuries.
By 12.45 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, police arrested the 19-year-old at a home in the Sydney suburb of Wahroonga. The outlets reported that he has been charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, negligent driving (occasioning death) and causing the loss of fetus – death of a pregnant woman.
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The 19-year-old, whose identity has not been made public, was refused bail and is set to appear in court on Sunday, Nov. 16.
“Any serious crash is very confronting for first responders and particularly tragic when people pass away and indeed when there are children involved,” Driver said, adding that the scene was difficult for the first responders who provided aid.
“This is a terrible, terrible story,” he said.
The local community has shared tributes to the woman and her family in the wake of the incident, and flowers have been left at the scene.
One card left near the memorial site offered a heartbreaking eulogy to the woman and her family, per News.com.au.
“Words can’t describe how sorry I am that this has happened to you,” the card reads. “It was a great privilege to be present with you for those moments. I pray for you and your little one, that you are held with love as you leave this world.”
New South Wales Police’s Crash Investigation Unit has opened an investigation, and officials are encouraging anyone with knowledge or dashcam footage of the incident to contact authorities.
Read the original article on People
