A 33-year-old pregnant Indian woman, just weeks from delivering her second child, has died in a devastating car accident in Sydney, Australia.
Samanvitha Dhareshwar, who was eight months pregnant, was out for an evening walk with her husband and their three-year-old son when the incident occurred last week, police said.
According to authorities, at approximately 8 pm on Friday, the family was crossing a car park entrance along George Street in Hornsby. A Kia Carnival had slowed down or stopped to allow Dhareshwar and her family to cross the footpath when a speeding BMW collided with the rear of the Kia.
The force of the impact propelled the Kia forward, striking Dhareshwar as she walked across the entrance. Police confirmed that Dhareshwar sustained catastrophic injuries in the collision. She was rushed to Westmead Hospital, where, despite emergency efforts, both she and her unborn child tragically died. The drivers of both the BMW and the Kia escaped the crash without injury, police stated.
It remains unclear whether Dhareshwar’s husband or their three-year-old son sustained any injuries in the incident. On her LinkedIn profile, Dhareshwar was described as a qualified IT systems analyst with expertise in business application administration and support. At the time of her death, she was employed as a test analyst at Alsco Uniforms.
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The luxury BMW was being driven by 19-year-old Aaron Papazoglu, a P-plater holding a provisional (probationary) licence.
Police later arrested Papazoglu at his home in Wahroonga. He has been charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning death, and causing the loss of a foetus. When he appeared before a magistrate, bail was refused due to the seriousness of the allegations.
Papazoglu is expected to face prosecution under Zoe’s Law, a piece of legislation introduced in New South Wales in 2022. The law recognises the separate loss of an unborn child in criminal offences and permits courts to impose up to three additional years’ imprisonment on top of the penalty for the underlying dangerous or negligent driving charges if he is convicted.
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