A young father from Kansas met his newborn son this week in tragic circumstances after his 22 year-old pregnant wife was killed by a driver fleeing Wichita police.
The Kansas Highway Patrol stated that Samantha Russell was waiting to make a left-hand turn at an intersection when a man fleeing police sped through a red light and slammed into her car. Though the crash involved two other vehicles as well, Samantha was the only person to die.
The next day, her baby was delivered one month prematurely.
“Words cannot explain or express the emotions going through everyone’s head today,” her husband Brandon Russell wrote on Facebook. “Sammy was taken from us but left behind the most beautiful gift of life.”
The Wichita Eagle reported that Samantha was 33 weeks pregnant when she died.
“Samantha was going to be a fantastic mother,” Brandon added. “She always had everything planned out and ready to go. She was driven and the hardest worker I knew. She always ALWAYS knew what to say when I was going through an issue or needed advice. She was the best person to know.”
Wichita police say that the driver who caused Samantha’s death has been arrested and may face murder charges. As of now, Brandon is focusing on both remembering Samantha and his future raising his son without her.
“[Samantha] was the best example of what it looks like to be happy,” he wrote. “She showed happiness to everyone and anyone that she knew. She will always be my wife and the person I turn to when I need advice or to ask another one of my dumb questions. I love you Samantha Russell. You are everything to me.”
Samantha’s other family and friends are devastated and shocked by her passing.
“Still in disbelief,” longtime family friend Chad Harrison told KAKE. “You never think it can happen to someone that close to you. You always hear about the stories. You always read it in the paper. But until it hits home and affects you or one of your loved ones… It’s hard.”
“It was devastating, you know, and to know that there was a baby, you know, still in a mother’s womb that survived that. It’s just, it’s unbelievable. It’s a miracle in itself,” he added.
Chad went on to say that Samantha had a big personality and “bubbly laugh.”
“She always had a plan, an ambition, strive, goals. Always set goals for herself. Always wanted to do more, always wanted to do better,” he said. “And not just for herself, but for those people around her. So she wanted to raise everyone up around her as well.”
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