‘Amazing Mother’ Dies in Car Crash on Way to Deliver Third Child Who Miraculously Survived

A woman in Skowhegan, Maine died tragically on her way to the hospital to give birth on Monday, [...]

By Michael Hein

A woman in Skowhegan, Maine died tragically on her way to the hospital to give birth on Monday, but her baby miraculously survived.

Desiree Strout, a 27-year-old mother of two from Canaan, Maine, was on her way to Redington-Fairview General Hospital on Monday morning with her husband, Harry Weeks, and their 8-year-old daughter. Strout was reportedly driving, and she was only five miles from the hospital when she hit a patch of black ice and skittered off the road.

Local authorities told the Kennebec Journal that the car hit a hard-packed snowbank on the side of the road and began to roll. It ended up on a frozen pond, lying on its side. Rescue workers were forced to pull Strout from the wreck and over to the side of the pond so that she could be treated. She had reportedly stopped breathing.


Despite the best efforts of paramedics, Strout passed away in the ambulance on her way to the hospital. However, her son survived, and was born through an emergency caesarean section. The baby was reportedly in critical condition as of Monday afternoon, and was transferred to the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for further treatment.

Weeks, meanwhile suffered from a lacerated liver and punctured lung. He was also listed in critical condition on Monday. The family requested privacy through this incredibly difficult ordeal.

Strout and Weeks' daughter, who was in the car, suffered minor injuries according to local officials, but she's expected to recover. Their younger 2-year-old daughter was not in the car.

Strout was well-known around the community, and her mother works at Redington-Fairview General Hospital. Strout home-schooled her daughters, and was known for having a wonderful impact on children. The story has rocked central Maine.

"It was an extremely stressful and emotional morning as Desiree was well known throughout the community as well as her mother working at the hospital Desiree was taken to," said Chief David Bucknam of the Skowhegan Police Department. "I personally would like to express my sincere appreciation to the men and woman of both the Skowhegan Police Department and Fire Department for their quick response and decisive action on scene."

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