Pregnant Mother Of 3 Killed Just Days Before Due Date After Truck’s Wheel Hub Smashes Window

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Losing someone that you love changes your life forever.

Losing a Mother can have a big impact on your life and for one family, the loss is being felt so hard right now.

Reports say that a pregnant mother of three was killed just over a week before her due date with her fourth child.

The death was completely unexpected and unfortunately the baby she was carrying passed away too. The family is now trying to pick up the pieces, hold up the 3 young children, and make sense of the whole situation.

PEOPLE magazine says that 38-year-old Melinda Cullen died while driving on Interstate 80 near Joliet, Illinois. Everything turned sour when a truck that was driving on the Interstate with her failed to ensure the safety of the vehicle.

According to ABC News 7, “About 2:20 p.m., the semitrailer was headed east on I-80 when a wheel hub came off the trailer’s rear axle near Rowell Avenue and crossed over into the westbound lanes of traffic, according to Illinois State Police.”

The lost truck hub tragically hit the pregnant mother’s windshield.

She didn’t have enough time to move out of the way and that wheel changed the course of so many lives.The accident was not something that police officers or other emergency crews see that often either.

And the pregnant mother’s parents are completely crushed

“You don’t expect something like this here, how it happened,” Charles Cullen, Melinda’s father-in-law, said. “She was just in that place at that time. I sat up last night wondering if she would have been five minutes or 3 minutes, one way or the other, they would missed it.”

Rob Bishop who witnessed the crash said the pregnant Mom had a direct hit from the tire.

“First thing I thought of was that could happen to anyone at any time,” said Bishop. “And that poor person in that vehicle probably never saw it coming…There was two state police officers next to it and there was a pretty big gaping hole in the windshield right in front of where the driver’s face would have been.”

Melinda Cullen was just 10 days away from giving birth to her fourth child into the world. He, a boy they’ve since named Jaxson Cash Cullen, would have been so loved by his older siblings, all girls aged 8, 5 and 15 months, and his dad David.

“She was just a sweet girl,” Peggy Bingham, her mother-in-law said. “I can’t believe that she is gone. That baby. I was hoping that baby would make it, it would have meant a lot.”

“Melinda was such a wonderful woman, and her and my son were like they were made for each other,” Charles said.

“I don’t think anybody would have anything bad to say about Melinda. She was a sweetheart, a good mother,” Peggy said. “I am going to miss her.”

The 59-year-old driver of the truck, Antanas Sereiva, has been charged with a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act violation for “unsafe equipment.”

The obituary for the pregnant mother reads, “A woman of strong will, Melinda loved to cook and had a smile that could lighten up any room.  She also made special time for her family or anyone in need. Family was of utmost importance to her, and she will most be remembered as a devoted mother that leaves behind a beautiful family that will miss her very much.”