Heartwarming photos of OC widower and daughter pay tribute to pregnant woman killed by DUI driver
ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- Four years after a pregnant 23-year-old woman was struck and killed in a collision involving a DUI driver in Anaheim, the victim's husband and their young daughter are continuing their annual tradition of honoring her by recreating her maternity photos.
"For Adalyn's birthday, we wanted to recreate the cherished moments from your beautiful and radiant maternity photoshoot to honor you," James Alvarez said Monday in an Instagram post, addressing his late wife Yesenia Lisette Aguilar. "With each pose and each captured moment, we honor your memory and celebrate the enduring love that continues to surround us, reminding us of the precious bond that lasts a lifetime."
Every year, Adalyn wears a matching pink dress and this year she wore matching heels as she paid tribute to the mother she never got to meet.
"Yesenia gave her life to save our beautiful daughter. I feel like I still have a piece of my wife through my daughter," Alvarez told Eyewitness News Tuesday.
Aguilar, an Anaheim resident, was 35 weeks pregnant at the time of the crash. She was walking on a sidewalk with Alvarez on Aug. 11, 2020, when a white Jeep SUV jumped the curb and struck her, police said.
The vehicle narrowly missed her husband. The couple's daughter, Adalyn Rose, was born by emergency C-section.
The new photos shared by Alvarez on social media show him and young Adalyn recreating the portraits that he and Aguilar posed for during her pregnancy.
"It's as if your essence has been woven into the very fabric of our daughter's being," Alvarez wrote this week. "In each delicate feature and every graceful gesture, I am reminded of the profound connection you share with her."
In April, a Garden Grove woman who pleaded guilty to driving impaired and fatally striking Aguilar was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Courtney Fritz Pandolfi, 44, pleaded guilty on Feb. 6 to second-degree murder and a felony count of driving under the influence of a drug causing injury, along with misdemeanor counts of driving on a suspended or revoked license due to a DUI, driving under the influence of a drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.
She also pleaded guilty to drug charges while in custody, according to prosecutors.
"I just want to say how very sorry I am to you guys, your family," said Pandolfi in an emotional statement during her sentencing hearing. "There is not a day that goes by where I do not think about what I did and how I could have prevented the horrible tragedy that occurred in August 2020. I affected so many lives that day, and because of my complete selfishness, I know I changed the path of your guys' lives."
Alvarez told Pandolfi during the sentencing hearing that his daughter "lost big," and that he wanted the defendant to "share the pain I carry.''
He told the defendant he hopes she finds the help she needs for her addictions while in prison.
"I do sense her guilt, but it's not enough for me to forgive,'' Alvarez said. "If I see change in her and trying to change her ways and that she's seeking help ... then I'll finally start to forgive. It will show remorse.''
City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.
