Auto Collision Kills Mother And Unborn Child; Woman Charged With D.U.I., Negligent Homicide

ST. CROIX — A woman was charged with driving under the influence and negligent homicide after an auto collision on the Queen Mary Highway on Thursday night left a young mother and her unborn child dead, V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte announced late Friday.

Mr. Dratte said the incident occurred at 8:19 p.m. near the St. Croix Central High School and involved two vehicles. One vehicle, a Toyota Celica, which included the victims, was traveling east, and the other vehicle, a multicolored Ford Flex, was headed west.

But the individual driving the Ford Flex heading west, was doing so on the eastbound lane, according to Mr. Dratte. The driver of the westbound vehicle, identified as 46-year-old Stephanie Ziegler, who police say was drunk, crashed into the vehicle heading east, causing the victim — who was the passenger of the eastbound vehicle — to be ejected through the front windshield of the Toyota Celica. Mr. Dratte said the victim along with her unborn child, succumbed to injuries sustained during the impact of the collision.

The victim was identified as Fatima Brown, 25, according to Mr. Dratte. She was 10 weeks pregnant.

Unable to make bail of $50,000, Ms. Ziegler was remanded to the Golden Grove Detention Center.