Pregnant woman loses baby when suspected drunk driver runs red light, Georgia cops say
A Georgia woman remains hospitalized in critical condition after losing her unborn baby in crash with an accused drunk driver over the weekend, police say.
Ashley Acosta, 19, suffered life-threatening injuries when the suspected drunk driver crashed into the car she was riding in Sunday, Jan. 30, according to Morrow police. She was seven months pregnant.
Officers responded to reports of a crash on Jonesboro Road just before 2 that morning, according to a police news release. Jeffrey Cordell Fulks, 32, of Morrow was headed southbound in a 2017 Ford F150 pickup truck when he ran a red light, slamming into a 2015 Chevy Cruze driven by Emanuel Cortes Acoltzi, 19.
Acosta, his fiancee, was riding in the passenger seat, according to WXIA.
“The force of the crash pushed Acoltzi’s vehicle across the intersection, over the sidewalk, and into a pole,” police said. “Fulks’ vehicle continued over a sidewalk and through several bushes before stopping in a gas station parking lot.”
The crash caused Acosta to lose her unborn son, whom she planned to name Mateo, family members told WXIA.
“She lost her baby and she doesn’t know it yet because she is in a coma,” Acosta’s mother, Elizabeth Robledo, told the news station. “They don’t give us much hope.”
Robledo described her daughter as “a fighter” who was also “tender, sweet (and) compassionate.” She said Acoltzi and her daughter had plans to get married, WXIA reported, and that Acosta dreamed of opening her own nail salon one day.
Acoltzi and Fulks were both treated at the scene for minor injuries, police said.
Fulks was arrested on several charges including first-degree vehicular feticide and driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the release. He was booked into the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office Jail and could face additional charges, police said.
Authorities said the crash remains under investigation.
Morrow is about 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 7:54 AM with the headline "Pregnant woman loses baby when suspected drunk driver runs red light, Georgia cops say."