Korean American, wife and unborn fetus killed in head-on crash in U.S. state of Georgia

A Korean American man, his pregnant wife and their unborn fetus all died from a wrong-way crash in the U.S. state of Georgia, authorities said. The couple was involved in a head-on collision Sunday in Athens, near Atlanta, after a vehicle traveling the wrong way entered the opposite lane and collided with the couple's car. 

The man, Choi Soon-hoon, was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, Lexi Waldroup, who was riding in the passenger's seat, was taken to a hospital with severe injuries but died four days later, police in Athens, Georgia, announced Wednesday. Waldroup was 15 weeks pregnant; her fetus did not survive.

The driver, identified as Desiree Browning, entered the eastbound lanes of Georgia State Route 10 while traveling westbound, struck two vehicles and continued driving before colliding with the couple’s car. Browning was also pronounced dead at the scene. 

Choi and Waldroup had married in June, according to a GoFundMe page set up for the family. Waldroup’s stepfather, Aaron Bedgood, wrote on the page that the family was preparing funeral arrangements amid “unimaginable heartbreak.”

“She fought with everything she had — with courage, strength and love — and her passing has left an ache that cannot be described,” he wrote. “The family is working to arrange Lexi’s services and is hoping to have her laid to rest alongside her husband, Soon-hoon, so they may be together forever.”

Athens police said they are continuing to investigate how Browning's vehicle entered the roadway and the cause of the crash.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]