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Pregnant Woman Fatally Struck By Car In Stoughton; Driver Arrested

STOUGHTON (CBS) -- A pregnant woman is dead after a car struck her Sunday night.

Karen Blau
Karen Blau (Credit: Stoughton Police)

Shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to the crash scene on Lincoln Street, where a car driven by Karen Blau, 64, of Sharon, had struck Joanne White, 35, of Stoughton, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office said in a prepared statement.

The pregnant woman was taken by medical helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she later died.

An investigation conducted by Stoughton Police, Massachusetts State Police and the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office determined Blau was in the driveway of a residence on  Lincoln Street looking for her daughter.  After speaking with a resident, the Sharon woman backed out of the driveway, went across the street, and drove onto the curb on the opposite side of the street, where she struck White, who was out walking on the sidewalk with her 11-year old son, the DA's office reported.

Blau's car struck White and a tree.  Prior to the crash, White yelled to her son to run to avoid being struck.  The 11-year-old was not hurt, the DA's office reported.

"She yelled at him: run ... run!" White's mother, Joan, told WBZ-TV, "and because she was so brave, the young man never had to see his mother killed."

Police arrested Blau at the scene, and she was arraigned Monday morning in Stoughton District Court on five charges, including motor vehicle homicide OUI liquor and negligent, motor vehicle homicide OUI drugs and negligent, and motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation.  She was held on $500,000 cash bail.

Blau faces a pretrial conference on Aug. 14.

Her attorney, James Gavigan, said White's death was a tragic accident, not a criminal act.

"The young woman was missing for several days, and her mother thought she may be into drugs, " Gavigan told WBZ-TV of Blau and her daughter, "so she was going door to door, looking for her. And she just bought this used car, and as she was backing out of a driveway, it suddenly accelerated ... and she had little control."

According to her attorney, Blau's Breathalizer result was .04, which is below the legal limit.

Joanne White
Joanne White (Credit: White Family)

The Sharon woman has a checkered driving history, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation reported in a prepared statement. There are four surchargeable accidents on the record, and she has been found responsible for the following violations: failure to stop, having unregistered or improper equipment, failing to keep right, no registration or license in possession, failure to signal and a lane violation.

Blau had a valid license at the time of the fatal crash, according to DOT.

WBZ-TV's Bill Shields contributed to this report.

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