Legal Process Begins In Crash That Killed OK Woman’s Unborn Baby

The crash that took the life of Paige Luper’s 5-and-a-half-month unborn baby is still fresh in her mind.

Last November, at the intersection of 136th Street North and Highway 11, Luper, her mother and boyfriend were hit.

The district attorney charged Noah Herring with first-degree manslaughter; now, nearly seven months after the crash, the legal process is starting.

“He didn't stop at the stop sign and just kept going," Luper said. “My mom turned left and was trying to avoid him…hit my passenger headlight first and then we smacked into him sideways."

The impact sent them spinning into the ditch and the truck ended up on its side.

The crash is still a blur for Paige but she remembers her first thought.

"I just thought about the fact that I was pregnant. I just started screaming and freaking out," she said. “’My baby, my baby' I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do."

Luper crawled out and was taken to a hospital with a broken jaw and cuts to her face; the whole time she feared for her unborn baby boy.

It was after midnight that doctors told her he wasn't going to make it.

"By then his heartbeat had already lowered and everything. It was to the point where they couldn't do anything," she said.

It’s an experience she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy.

"I would never want someone to go through what I went through, ever," she said.

We went to the address listed for Herring for comment but no one answered.

Luper said that with charges now filed she feels like she can start to get some closure.

"It's like a little bit off my shoulders. It’s a relief that they're doing something," she said.

No one else involved in the crash suffered serious injuries.

At the time, Herring was given a field sobriety test but neither that nor the breathalyzer returned a positive result for alcohol.