She left her baby shower and was hit by drunk driver, cops say. Her baby girl died.
A first-time mother and elementary school teacher from Laurel, Mississippi, lost her unborn baby when a serial drunk driver hit her car on Saturday about 15 minutes after she left her baby shower, her father, Maurice Pruitt Sr., told the Sun Herald.
Mashayla Harper, who was 36 weeks pregnant with a girl to be named Londyn Alise Jones, was left bleeding and banged up on the roadside in the Soso community, Pruitt said. A hunter found 24-year-old Harper and called for help.
Harper, who was initially on life support in critical condition, is expected to live. She is recovering from extensive injuries, including head trauma, a broken leg and damage to her abdomen. Her mother, Chandra Harper, is with her at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg.
“They are through with all her surgeries,” Pruitt said. “Everything is fine. She is awake. She knows that her baby died. She is really sad. She doesn’t want anyone to leave her right now. They are allowing her mother to stay with her.”
A man with three DUI convictions has been charged in the wreck, The Laurel-Leader Call reported.
James Cory Gilbert, 33, is being held at the Jones County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond. He faces five charges as a result of the accident, according to the sheriff’s office: driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident causing death, leaving the scene causing injuries, marijuana possession and possession of paraphernalia.
Gilbert told a reporter that he was “very sorry” for leaving the scene, the newspaper reported.
The Jones County Sheriff’s Office told the Laurel-Leader Call that Gilbert hit Harper’s Honda Accord head-on in his Nissan Titan truck.
“He jumped out of his truck and ran and just left her out there to die,” Pruitt told the Sun Herald. He said the Sheriff’s Office located Gilbert within hours.
Pruitt said on his Facebook page that he was touched because the Soso community “jumped into action, spreading the word about the man being in the area on foot . . . some even going out looking for him.”
Pruitt said that Londyn would have been his daughter’s first child. She was living with her mother and had the baby’s nursery all set up.
“There’s so much stuff at the house,” he said. “She wanted everything to be perfect.”
He said that his daughter has a master’s degree and teaches fourth grade at South Jones Elementary School. Her boyfriend, Austinn Jones, also was looking forward to his daughter’s birth and was spending time with Harper at the hospital.
Pruitt wants to tell his daughter about all the support she has received when she feels better. He said he has received messages from thousands of people.
A Gofundme page has been set up to help with Harper’s medical and living expenses. She will be unable to work for an extended period.
Harper’s due date was Feb. 11. She was tracking the baby’s progress on Facebook, posting a chart before Christmas that showed she was in her third and final trimester.
Pruitt said that he and Harper’s mother have talked about what to do with all her baby things, including the gifts Harper had just received at her shower. Her parents plan to put everything away in case their daughter gets pregnant again one day.
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 11:55 AM.
