A 33-year-old man is facing a first-degree feticide charge after Gwinnett County police say he was racing at 94 mph when he slammed into a car carrying a pregnant Duluth woman, killing her unborn son. Symeon and Samantha Izaguirre were simply turning left into a commercial plaza on Satellite Boulevard when the crash happened, and now, months later, they have forgiven the man accused of destroying their family's future.
The collision happened around 8 p.m. on June 20 as the couple drove their Mini Cooper into a plaza near Duluth, according to Law & Crime. Arrest warrants filed in August revealed that suspect Dorin Lupas was behind the wheel of a 2014 Mercedes-Benz traveling 94 mph in a 45 mph zone, and onboard event data showed his gas pedal was fully depressed for three seconds before impact, according to WSB-TV. Lupas, 33, is now facing charges connected to the crash, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
A Pregnancy Cut Short and a Marriage Shattered by Injury
Samantha Izaguirre was 24 weeks pregnant when the T-bone impact ruptured her uterus, killing her unborn son, Zion, and leaving her with fractures to her femur, ankle, and pelvis, per the station's report. Symeon Izaguirre, who was driving during the couple's errand that evening, suffered a fractured lower back bone from the same broadside impact. Fox 5 Atlanta reports on the crash and feticide charge.
Gwinnett County Police Master Police Officer Brock Marks was blunt about where fault lay, telling reporters the Izaguirres were completely blameless — they were simply turning into a plaza while going about their day as normal motorists. On August 27, police formally charged Lupas with first-degree vehicular feticide, two counts of serious injury by vehicle, misdemeanor racing on highways, and reckless driving, the same account notes.
What Lupas Could Face in Court
Under Georgia Code Section 40-6-393.1, a conviction for first-degree feticide by vehicle carries a mandatory prison sentence ranging from 3 to 15 years, according to Justia Law. The misdemeanor racing charge was listed separately.
Witness accounts described engine revving at a green light before the crash, a detail that remains unresolved. It is also unclear how court proceedings will unfold given the scope of the injuries involved.
Choosing Forgiveness After Devastating Loss
Symeon and Samantha Izaguirre have forgiven the man accused of killing their son. Their decision comes even as Samantha continues her long recovery and the couple grapples with a loss that reshaped their family in an instant.
The crash adds to a pattern Gwinnett County officials have worked to combat for years. Gwinnett County Police have run specialized multi-agency enforcement details targeting illegal street racing on local roads, issuing hundreds of citations and making dozens of arrests in an effort to curb high-speed hazards on county thoroughfares, according to Gwinnett County Government. For the Izaguirres, that broader safety push comes too late to undo what happened on Satellite Boulevard in June, but it underscores just how persistent the problem has been on Gwinnett's busiest corridors.
According to Gwinnett County, the street-racing operation conducted on March 5 and 6, 2021, produced 134 traffic tickets, seven felony warrants and three misdemeanor warrants. Gwinnett County said police conducted 325 total traffic stops during the operation.
