A mother of two lost her life shortly before her 23rd birthday when she was struck by a car driven by her boyfriend near the intersection of Hull and Delaware Avenues in Des Moines, Iowa just after midnight on Saturday, October 31.
Family and friends describe the victim, for whom they held a memorial on Sunday, November 1, as “happy-go-lucky and energetic” and noted that “she was going to be missed by many.”
According to preliminary investigations, the victim had been riding home from a party with her 41-year-old boyfriend when the pair came upon a train. What happened next is unclear. Somehow, the victim ended up outside of the vehicle and was struck as her boyfriend was backing up. Officers are still working to determine whether the victim’s exiting the vehicle was intentional or accidental. Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek told reporters, “It very well maybe just a bad accident.”