Joanne White was walking along Lincoln Street with her son Sunday night when prosecutors said Karen Blau was driving drunk and on drugs and backed out of a nearby driveway and ran over the pregnant woman.
Her son, 11-year-old Jahmari White, had a tear in his eye as he described how his mother saved his life even as she lost her own and that of her unborn child.
“She was so protective of him, but her instinct kicked in when danger was there. She knew exactly what to say to him,” said the victim’s mother, Joanne White.
“I guess she just floored the accelerator and she just came back and full speed onto the sidewalk,” said Jahmari.
Blau’s lawyer said the cause of the crash was mechanical problems with the car she just bought. He said she’s devastated to know she killed a woman who was four months pregnant.
“She’s in shock over that, she really is. She’s just absolutely distraught over the whole thing,” said Prosecutor Matt Fridel.
White’s family said they will let the court sort out the facts while they are left to raise an 11-year-old boy who was never far from his mother’s side until it was the only way she could save his life.
“She just sacrificed and died for him. That’s the ultimate, as a mother. Mothers do that,” said the victim’s father, Joe White.
The father of the victim’s unborn child is a military veteran and he said when someone gives their life for another in the military they get a Medal of Honor. He said Joanne is a real hero to him.