Wife of victim speaks after authorities say a drunk, pregnant woman caused a deadly crash
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police arrested 23-year-old Candice Ooley after she crashed into the car that Louisa Pamplona and her husband were in last week.
The accident left Pamplona with a fractured back and a husband who she'll never see again.
Saturday is Louisa's 49th birthday, but the man who she spent six years married to is not here to celebrate with her.
"He's my life and my life is destroyed," she said tearfully. "I can't believe it."
Pamplona's husband, 47-year-old Frederico Silva, was killed after Ooley hit the Hummer the two were riding in along Highway 41.
Investigators say Ooley had been drinking and driving and fell asleep behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Cruze.
Ooley is six to eight months pregnant and her blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit.
It's been frustrating for Louisa to hear that authorities believe the accident could have been avoided if there was a responsible driver behind the wheel.
"I just think she killed my husband, she killed my husband," Louisa said. "She killed my life. She destroyed everything, my happiness."
Madera County District Attorney David Linn says he wanted to file a murder charge because Ooley has a prior DUI case, but because she wasn't convicted then, he couldn't.
"We can only go for what the law provides," Madera County District Attorney David Linn said. "And if we don't have the charges to get more than 15 years, that's where we are."
Pamplona says no sentence will heal the hole she has in her heart or bring back the man who made her life complete.
"We are best friends," Louisa said. "We did everything together, everything."
And now she's trying to figure out how with a fractured back she is going to pay to bury the man whose smile lit up her world.
"I can't work," she said. "I have this problem now, I can't do anything."
The family set up a GoFundMe account for those who wish to donate, click here for details.
