Pregnancy

A pregnant woman from Indiana tragically lost her life this past weekend when her car went over the center lane on the highway, collided with a semi-truck, and wound up crashing into a utility pole. The reason for why Angelica Thrash's car suddenly swerved is unknown, but she sustained injuries bad enough that she could not be resuscitated with CPR. And to make things even worse, her two small children were also in the car, though thankfully, they are both ok. But there's nothing more devastating than children losing their mother -- especially when she was carrying their unborn sibling.

Angelica's story is beyond heartbreaking, but a piece of it is also miraculous -- because even though doctors could not save her after the accident, they were able to perform an emergency C-section to deliver her baby. And while the infant is still in neonatal intensive care and isn't completely out of the woods, it's astonishing that any baby could survive after an accident like that.

I can't even begin to imagine what must have gone through Angelica's head in the seconds before she ultimately hit the utility pole -- but I'm sure her two children and her baby were in the forefront of her mind. I can remember be incredibly hypersensitive while driving when I was pregnant. I went a lot slower and was much more aware of the other cars around me. I was just so terrified of getting into an accident and having something happen to my baby -- which I'm guessing is how she felt in those final moments as well. If only she'd somehow known that her little one would make it through the accident -- perhaps it would've given her one last feeling of peace.

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As awful as this story is, I think it's also important to note that Angelica was not wearing her seat belt at the time of the accident. Since she was seven months along in her pregnancy, I guess it's possible that she chose not to wear it because it was uncomfortable with her growing belly. And while we can't determine whether wearing it would have saved her, her tragedy should still serve as an important reminder to expectant mothers (and all drivers for that matter) to buckle up every time they get behind the wheel.

Have you been afraid to drive or more nervous about driving since you became pregnant?

Image via SurFeRGiRL30/Flickr