Pregnant Mom Walking With Fiancée Killed After Being Hit by Car That Sent Her ‘Rolling Down the Street’
Pregnant Mom Walking With Fiancée Killed After Being Hit by Car That Sent Her ‘Rolling Down the Street’
NEED TO KNOW
- Michelle Heidbrick and her unborn baby were killed in a hit-and-run over the weekend, per her family
- Two days after the crash, Rosalinda Vaca turned herself in to police, allegedly claiming she was driving the vehicle that hit Heidbrick
- Vaca allegedly told police she remembered hitting something while driving on Sunday but did not realize a woman and her unborn baby were hit in the crash
An Illinois family is mourning the sudden death of a pregnant mother who was killed in a hit-and-run while walking with her fiancée.
The victim, identified as Michelle Heidbrick, died from blunt force trauma after being taken to a hospital following the Sunday, Sept. 21 crash in Waukegan, Ill., ABC 7, WGN-TV and Lake & McHenry County Scanner reported, citing local authorities.
On Tuesday evening, Waukegan police confirmed 49-year-old Rosalinda Vaca turned herself in to authorities, per the outlets.
Heidbrick, 36, was five-months pregnant, her sister Nicole Heidbrick and fiancée Charlie Walkanoff told the outlets.
Heidbrick was walking with Walkanoff on Sunday evening when she was hit by a car, which did not stop and drove off, witnesses alleged to police, per the outlets.
“All I heard was a smack,” Walkanoff told WGN-TV. “Next thing I knew, she’s rolling down the street. They hit my baby so hard.”
The grieving fiancée said as he pleaded for someone to call police, a passerby stopped and called 911.
Waukegan Police Department
Officials responding to the scene found Heidbrick with severe injuries; she was pronounced dead at a local medical facility. Her unborn baby also died in the incident, per her family and police.
As the investigation was underway, Vaca turned herself in on Tuesday and allegedly told police she was the driver, ABC 7, WGN-TV and Lake & McHenry County Scanner reported.
She allegedly said she had hit something while driving on Sunday, but did not know that a pregnant woman was killed until she saw it on the news, which prompted her to turn herself in, police said.
Gofundme
Heidbrick leaves behind an 18-year-old son and is being remembered as a loving mom and aunt.
“So sweet, kind, wouldn’t hurt a fly. She’d give you the shirt off her back,” her sister Nicole told ABC 7.
Nicole said Heidbrick was excited about the new baby, whose gender she was going to learn the following week.
“We had to find out through autopsy that she was having a baby boy,” Nicole told ABC 7.
A GoFundMe has been set up to assist with Heidbrick’s funeral expenses.
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Vaca has been charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, according to Waukegan officials cited by ABC 7, WGN-TV and Lake & McHenry County Scanner.
A judge ordered Vaca be detained until her trial, per Lake & McHenry County Scanner
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