Yesenia Aguilar in memory: Heartwarming photos of widower and daughter honor pregnant woman killed by drunk driver

Four years after a 23-year-old pregnant woman was struck and killed in a drunken car crash in Anaheim, the victim’s husband and young daughter are continuing their annual tradition of paying their respects by recreating her pregnancy photos.

“For Adalyn’s birthday, we wanted to recreate the precious moments of your beautiful and radiant maternity photoshoot to honor you,” James Alvarez said in an Instagram post on Monday, addressing his late wife Yesenia Lisette Aguilar. “With each pose and moment captured, we honor your memory and celebrate the enduring love that continues to surround us and remind us of the precious bond that lasts a lifetime.”

Aguilar, an Anaheim resident, was 35 weeks pregnant at the time of the accident. 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 Caesarean section.

The new photos, shared by Alvarez on social media, show him and young Adalyn recreating the portraits he and Aguilar posed for during her pregnancy.

“It is as if your being is woven into the being of our daughter,” Alvarez wrote this week. “Every delicate feature and graceful gesture reminds me of the deep connection you share with her.”

In April, a Garden Grove woman who pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and fatally striking Aguilar was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

Courtney Fritz Pandolfi, 44, pleaded guilty on Feb. 6 to first-degree murder and driving while intoxicated causing personal injury. He was also found guilty of driving on a suspended or revoked license for drunken driving, driving while intoxicated and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to prosecutors, she also pleaded guilty to several drug offenses while in custody.

“I just want to tell you and your family how very sorry I am,” Pandolfi said in an emotional statement during her sentencing. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about what I did and how I could have prevented the terrible tragedy that occurred in August 2020. I impacted so many lives that day, and because of my utter selfishness, I know I changed the trajectory of your people’s lives.”

During the sentencing, Alvarez told Pandolfi that his daughter had “suffered a great defeat” and that he wanted the defendant to “share the pain that I carry within me.”

He told the defendant that he hoped she would find the help she needed in prison to combat her addiction.

“I feel her guilt, but that’s not enough for me to forgive her,” Alvarez said. “When I see that she’s changing, that she’s trying to change her behavior and that she’s seeking help… then I’ll finally start to forgive. That will be a sign of remorse.”

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.