Samantha Russell was a 22-year-old pregnant woman whose car was hit by an alleged robbery suspect with a truck on July 8, 2021. The fleeing robbery suspect illegally crossed the red light hitting 2 vehicles. Samantha was 33 weeks pregnant at the time.
Who Was Samantha Russell? What Happened On July 8?
Samantha Russell was a 22-year-old kind well-driven adult who met with an accident on July 8, 2021. Samantha was carrying her 8-month-old baby at the time of the accident. She couldn’t survive the crash and died in 2 hours of hospitalization. The baby miraculously survived the crash. Samantha died after 4 minutes of her delivery of the boy.
Brandon Russell, her husband, said that she left behind a “beautiful gift of life”. According to Brandon, Samantha would have been a wonderful mother and she didn’t deserve a death like this he wrote painfully on his Facebook.
Samantha was waiting at a stoplight signal around 5 in the evening and suddenly a man in a pickup truck crashed into Samantha’s car, including 2 other vehicles. Samantha was rushed to the nearby hospital and unfortunately died after 2 hours.
Javan Ervin’s Link With The Death Of Samantha Russell
Javan Ervin is a robbery suspect who was on the loose when the incident took place. Ervin ran through a red light and crashed into Samantha’s car.
Prior to the crash, while investigating a robbery at a hotel took one suspect into custody near Maple and Ridge. The other suspect was Ervin who took off the premises in a white Dodge pickup.
Reports On The Crash
Reports say Ervin’s northbound pickup hit a westbound Chevy Silverado. This followed the detaching of tires from the Dodge. The pickup, out of control, then struck a Jeep Compass.
The Jeep was actually supposed to turn left from southbound Ridge to eastbound Central. The pickup then collided with Samantha’s car Mazda CX3 that was just behind the Jeep Compass. For Samantha, being 8 months pregnant at the time could not predict and react according to the situation.
What Did The Cops say?
The police said one of the officers tried to pursue the pickup but the supervisor told them to help deal with the other suspect. Capt. Paul Duff said the officer turned and went to help the original officer who had the other suspect. Javan was booked for first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and criminal firearm possession.
Kansas Department records show that the suspect Ervin has a prior aggravated battery conviction and four robberies. He’s been a regular in prison since 2004. His last sentence expired on June 15 2021 and he was released from prison.
Fundraise
Several fundraiser programs were associated with the heartbreaking incident that took Samantha Russell’s life. A GoFundMe was set up for Russell’s family. This has raised more than $110,000 up to date.