Unborn baby dies after crash

A heavily pregnant Canterbury woman’s unborn child has died after a head-on car crash.

Canterbury police rural area commander Inspector Peter Cooper said emergency services were called to a twocar crash at the intersection of Ashley Gorge Rd and German Rd, north of Oxford, about midday on Monday.

One of the drivers, a 26-year-old woman, was nine months pregnant. She was flown to Christchurch Hospital with moderate injuries. Her child was stillborn the next day.

‘‘Tragically, she has lost a baby,’’ Cooper said.

Cooper said an investigation into what caused the crash and who was at fault was under way.

It was not yet clear if the accident caused the child to be stillborn.

‘‘We’re awaiting the medical reports to confirm whether the tragic death of the child was related to the accident or another medical issue.’’

Cooper said it was too soon to say whether charges would be laid.

‘‘Until we talk to [the pregnant driver] and get her side of the story, we won’t be in a position to actually determine whether to lay charges.’’

‘‘We send our sympathy to the family and everyone involved.’’

In 2012, Bililigne Gebretsadik lost his unborn son as a result of a car crash at a complicated Wellington intersection.

His wife, Seble Cherie, who was almost seven months pregnant, was a passenger in the car.

She was injured in the crash and lost her baby after an emergency caesarean section in hospital.

Cherie begged police not to prosecute her husband, but after a six-month investigation they laid charges.

In an unprecedented decision that police said was not made lightly, Gebretsadik was charged with careless driving causing the death of an unborn child on top of charges related to the injuries suffered by his wife and the woman driving the other vehicle.

A judge ruled the following year that Gebretsadik was not guilty of careless driving and was therefore not responsible for causing his child’s death.