An off-duty firefighter from Dallas was drunk-driving when he crashed into another vehicle on Wednesday, Dec, 13.
The collision killed the driver of the car he hit—a pregnant teen and her unborn child.
Alyssa Pimentel, 18 was driving with her boyfriend Isaiah Perez, 21 in a suburb through Dallas. As she was merging onto traffic a car rear-ended her—the collision sent both of them out of their seats. Her boyfriend was injured in the crash.
At the time, firefighter Horace Shaw III, 45, was driving a two-door white Mercedes when he struck the couple’s Mazda SUV, Fox4 reported.
According to the Cedar Hill Police Department, Shaw is a fireman with the City of Dallas. The department said that Pimentel’s family has been notified.
Police believe that Shaw was speeding and under the influence of alcohol. Investigators said Shaw had been drinking at a bar before just before the crash, according to the Cedar Hill Police department.
Police said a witness at the scene told them that the Mercedes seemed to be driving between 100 and 110 mph.
Perez, suffering from a fractured neck and leg said he was still in shock over what occurred.
“It hurts when you have someone in your arms, and you’re just holding them and you don’t want to let go,” he told Fox4.
“She already got the bassinet and bought all the baby stuff,” Perez told Fox4. “That’s the one thing she was really happy about and proud.”
He planned to propose and had already bought a ring for Pimentel before the tragedy changed everything.
“I just remember getting picked up from work and then stopping on the side of the road to change her tire or check if it had air in it. Then we got back on the highway,” he recalled to Fox4. “I blacked out, and I woke up on the side of the highway. And I'd seen her laying on the other side of the highway with her belly sticking out.”
The boyfriend said the pair met at Midlothian High School.
Records say that after the crash Shaw got out of his car and walked to where Pimentel was lying on the ground. He told the witness that he was a paramedic himself before he too, lay down, according to the Dallas Morning News.
According to the newspaper, Shaw is facing one count of intoxication manslaughter. On Wednesday evening, he was booked into the Dallas County Jail.
The City of Dallas has placed Shaw on administrative leave, while the department conducts an internal investigation.
Pimentel’s mother, Jayne Pimentel wrote a touching message to her family and friends on Facebook.
“We are currently shaken and saddened by the tragic events that occurred today,” Jayne wrote, in part. “Alyssa was our one and only daughter carrying our grandson with their whole lives ahead of them.”
“We are very disappointed with the fact that an individual who is tasked with saving lives is responsible for taking the lives of our family members,” she added.
Just days ago on Friday, Dec. 8, Jayne posted a photo of her daughter captioned with “Coming soon Alyssa!” in reference to her baby.
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