Family mourns couple, unborn child killed in wrong-way crash: 'Christmas will never be the same'

Christmas marked by grief after wrong-way crash

A Georgia family is mourning this holiday season after a young couple and their unborn child were killed in a wrong-way crash in Athens.

ATHENS, Ga. - A Georgia family is mourning this holiday season after a young couple and their unborn child were killed in a wrong-way crash in Athens.

The backstory:

Athens-Clarke County police say the couple was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver just after midnight Sunday on the Georgia Highway 10 Inner Loop. The crash killed 25-year-old Soonhoon Choi of Athens and the wrong-way driver at the scene. Choi’s wife, Sara "Lexi" Waldroup, who was 15 weeks pregnant, later died at the hospital on Christmas Eve, according to her family.

Police said Choi and Waldroup were traveling along the Inner Loop of State Road 10 when the wrong-way driver hit them head-on. Choi and the other driver died at the scene. Bedgood said Waldroup later died at the hospital.

What they're saying:

Aaron Bedgood, Waldroup’s stepfather, said the family is still struggling to process the loss.

"Dealing with this, it's been hell. It's been hell," Bedgood said.

Family members said the couple had been on their way home from the movies when the crash happened, and the days since have felt overwhelming.

Bedgood said becoming a mother was something Waldroup deeply wanted.

"The one thing she wanted to be was a mother. And she was super happy whenever her and Soon ended up pregnant," he said.

"They're innocent souls. Lexi wouldn't hurt nobody. She wouldn't hurt nobody. They were. They were wanting to have a family," Bedgood said.

He described the moment the family learned Waldroup would not survive.

"It was rage. It was grief. It was heartache. It was also relief because we know at that point she's…she's moved on. No more pain, no more issues," he said.

Aaron Bedgood, stepfather of Sara "Lexi" Waldroup, speaks about his family’s grief and says Christmas will never be the same after Waldroup, her husband, and their unborn child were killed in a wrong-way crash in Athens during the holiday week.

Bedgood said Choi was an only child and a South Korean national who was in the United States on a student visa. Choi’s family arrived earlier this week.

"She begged me to go see her son. But after seeing the car, I couldn't let her go see her son. She couldn't have that image of her son," Bedgood said.

Now, Bedgood said, both families are trying to figure out how to move forward after the tragedy.

"If there's the ability to move on, I guess we move on. I mean, Christmas will never be the same, obviously," he said.

What's next:

Bedgood said funerals for both Waldroup and Choi are scheduled for Saturday. As of Friday evening, more than $31,000 has been donated to a GoFundMe campaign to support the family.