A NEWLYWED bride was killed by a suspected drunk driver as she made her way home from her wedding reception. Angelica Dhondup, 26, died after her car was hit by a Toyota pickup truck police say was driven on the wrong side of the road by Manaure Gonzalez-Rea. She had married her childhood sweetheart Tenzing just […]
A NEWLYWED bride was killed by a suspected drunk driver as she made her way home from her wedding reception.
Angelica Dhondup, 26, died after her car was hit by a Toyota pickup truck police say was driven on the wrong side of the road by Manaure Gonzalez-Rea.
She had married her childhood sweetheart Tenzing just hours before the crash and leaves behind two biological sons and a daughter she “was a week away from adopting”, according to GoFundMe for the family.
Dhondup had been in a Toyota Corolla driven by her 20-year-old female cousin. She was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The pair had been traveling home to drop off wedding presents and planning to return to the party when they were hit.
Gonzalez-Rea, 36, from Utah, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning following the fatal collision outside Salt Lake City.
Some of the bride’s loved ones were also making their way home at the time of the crash and were nearby, according to local officials.
A GoFundMe for the family states: “It was the most beautiful night filled with family and laughter.
“She hadn’t even been married a full 24 hours and is leaving behind a widowed husband 2 young handsome sons and a daughter she was a week away from adopting.”
Her friend Tayler Craft told KSL: “She went to go drop her wedding gifts off and she was on her way back to the party. She was not even a mile away.
“She can’t even go to her honeymoon. She can’t even come home to her kids.
“To think about what he did to somebody on their wedding night, when she just got married five hours ago.
“I love her so much and it makes me so sad. She’s such a good person, she’s such a good mom.
“They had a whole life planned out together and he just cut it short… Anything could come at any time. Hold your family members close.”
Horror pictures show the aftermath of the crash with the truck turned upside down.
Cans of beer could also been across the road.
Gonzalez-Rea is also said to have stolen the pick up truck of a passerby who stopped to help in the aftermath of the crash.
He was found by police shortly afterwards and is said to have admitted to drinking three beers.
A breathalyzer showed Gonzalez-Rea, who is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail, tested positive for alcohol, according to court documents.
A trooper’s statement read: “Dispatch advised that a pickup truck was driving wrong way going southbound in the northbound lanes.
“The truck hit a Toyota Corolla head on. The driver of the Toyota Corolla was pronounced dead on scene at approximately 01:27 hours.”
Gonzalez-Rea now faces charges including automobile homicide criminal negligence and driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
