A pregnant Georgia woman who led police on a high speed has been charged with the death of her unknown baby and is expected to face other charges in connection with a DUI car crash on Wednesday, May 12, 2010.
Jessica Bruce, 21 was driving 85 m.p.h. in a 65 m.p.h. zone on I-20 in Douglasville. When police tried to pull her over for speeding, she refused to stop her car and exited onto Chapel Hill Road, and then turned right on Douglas Boulevard.
Bruce sped up and wove in and out of traffic, the car hit a curb and then spun out into traffic where she hit a vehicle that was stopped at a red light and then caused another crash when her car was t-boned. Bruce was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Her 24-week-old fetus died as a result of the crash. Police believe that alcohol was a factor in the accident. he will be formally charged when she is released from the hospital.
The other drivers sustained only minor injuries, but one woman was trapped in her car and had to be extricated.
Twenty-four states recognize fetuses as victims of DUI and drunk driving crashes, but Georgia is the only state with a specific law pertaining to “feticide by vehicle.”