‘Extremely traumatic’: Oahu family mourns loss of newborn following crash on mainland

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An Oahu family is grieving the loss of their newest family member in a car crash on the mainland.

Like any young couple, Dallas and Esteban Gonzalez looked forward to welcoming their first baby into the world.

Dallas is from Mililani on Oahu — her grandmother Mary Rivera starred in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

The couple moved to Salt Lake City, Utah two years ago to start a new life together.

“We definitely wanted to try somewhere new, something different,” they said.

On June 24th, tragedy struck. A driver going 90 miles an hour ran a red light and T-boned their car in a busy intersection.

Dallas — 36 weeks pregnant in the passenger seat — bore most of the impact.

She was unconscious, not responding. She had one of the most horrible wounds I’ve ever seen in my life,” Esteban said. “Everything that I hold dear, dear to me, my wife, my unborn child and my dog. I thought it was all gone.”

Their dog Cooper had been thrown 20 yards from the car.

“If I close my eyes, I still can see images of my poor dog, his body, his lifeless body,” Esteban said. “It was extremely traumatic.”

Dallas had to get an emergency C section and gave birth to a baby girl Mila — but doctors knew something was wrong. Mila was airlifted to a children’s hospital 15 miles away.

“It was really hard seeing her because you know, it just wasn’t really good news, it was just really hard. But I was so happy to see her,” Dallas said.

Three days after the crash — the family was finally reunited.

“We said our prayers, we held her and we kissed her, we gave her so much love to her. We read to her,” they said.

The couple held onto hope but they eventually had to let Mila go.

“There’s too much bleeding in her brain and it basically left her brain dead,” Esteban said. “I just wish we could have more time with her.”

“We’re supposed to have a lifetime with her,” Dallas said.

It isn’t the family picture they envisioned, but it’s one that shows the few precious hours they had together.

As Dallas and Esteban pick up the pieces, they’re also piecing together details of the crash.

According to witnesses and police, the driver who hit them had been going 90 miles per hour on the wrong side of the road.

“Somebody took matters into their own hands and decided to be reckless,” Esteban said. “I don’t think either of us will feel like we get a sense of closure until we know that some criminal action has been taken against this person.”

Their ohana in Hawaii started a GoFundme page to help them with medical and funeral expenses.

“We lost so much, it feels so empty. But all the love and support that people are pouring over us, like really fills our hearts,” Dallas said.

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