Pregnant Woman Killed; Baby Lives

A 26-year-old Santa Ana woman who was eight months’ pregnant was killed Saturday in a two-car accident on the San Diego Freeway. Her baby, delivered by emergency room doctors who tried to save the woman’s life, was in critical condition.

Authorities said Claudia Vasquez-Duran was killed in the 4:20 p.m. crash on the northbound San Diego Freeway at Brookhurst Street in Fountain Valley.

Vasquez-Duran was a passenger in a Toyota Highlander that was struck by a Honda Accord that had spun out of control while making a lane change, said Sgt. D. Murley of the California Highway Patrol.

The Toyota hit a raised median and flipped, landing on its roof. Vasquez-Duran, a passenger who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected. Four others in the car who were wearing seat belts sustained minor to moderate injuries and were taken to hospitals, Murley said.

“It’s very sad,” she said. “She’s survived by a husband and a ... little boy.”

Vasquez-Duran was taken to Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center where she died and her baby was delivered, said Larry Esslinger, a deputy Orange County coroner.

“During the heroics of trying to save her, they took the baby,” Esslinger said. “The mom was too far gone.”