Pregnant Anaheim mom mourning husband and 10-year-old daughter killed in crash involving DUI suspect
ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- A pregnant Anaheim mother is mourning her 10-year-old daughter and husband who were killed when a suspected drunk driver slammed into their church group van in Placentia last month.
Speaking in Spanish, Erika Lopez was in tears as she told Eyewitness News Friday that her daughter was a beautiful girl - a gift from God gone too soon.
Nights are sleepless, the pain is unbearable for her. She said she is lost without her little Lucero.
The 10-year-old was among three people killed by an accused drunk driver in Placentia.
RELATED: 3 killed, including 10-year-old girl, in suspected DUI crash in Placentia
Lopez described her oldest as a happy girl who always greeted her and her little sister, due in March, with a flower and kiss after school.
She said she would never erase from her mind the image of her daughter lying dead at the crash site on Jan. 25.
Lopez was also in the van along with her son and husband, Alberto Lopez. They were part of a group heading home after a night of prayer at the Nueva Vida Church.
Lopez's husband also died. She said he was a good man and good father to her children. The couple would've celebrated one year of marriage in April.
On top of the heartache, Lopez is worried as her husband was the sole breadwinner. She's left trying to figure out how to make ends meet.
Her GoFundMe account was at just more than $5,000 three weeks after the crash. Lopez said that was only enough to cover a third of the cost of burying her husband and daughter near family in Guatemala.
Lopez has found strength in those still depending on her: her 8-year-old son and the new life in her womb.
Lopez said with her own two hands, after the birth of her baby, she will be able to work for her children.
The suspect, 24-year-old Mario Armando Paz Jr., pleaded not guilty to drunk driving charges in court Friday.
