BATON ROUGE – A family’s Thanksgiving table still had leftover sweet-potato pie on it when the call came: 19-year-old Jaylah Donald and her unborn daughter had been killed in a horrific crash only blocks from home.
Louisiana State Police say the tragedy unfolded around 9:45 p.m. Thursday night on Plank Road near Prescott Road. Jaylah, eight months pregnant and glowing in photos from dinner just hours earlier, was riding in the front passenger seat of a friend’s Nissan Altima.
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As the Nissan began slowly backing out of a driveway, a BMW traveling at a high rate of speed slammed into the driver’s side without braking.
The impact was so violent that both vehicles spun into a ditch. Jaylah and her baby girl, whom she had already named Nova-Rae, were pronounced dead at the scene. The 20-year-old driver of the Nissan and a backseat passenger were rushed to Our Lady of the Lake in critical condition.
Troopers arrested the BMW driver, 24-year-old Marcus Trevion James, at the scene. Field sobriety tests showed he was allegedly more than twice the legal limit. He now faces two counts of vehicular homicide, DWI, and reckless operation. Bond was set at $350,000.
Family members say Jaylah had spent the holiday surrounded by cousins, aunts, and her trademark laugh. She was due January 8 and had just finished decorating a pink-and-gold nursery.
“She kept rubbing her belly at the table saying, ‘Nova gone love her mama’s mac and cheese one day,’” her grandmother Sharon Donald wept outside the crash site Friday morning, clutching a sonogram photo. “Now they both gone before the leftovers even cold.”
A makeshift memorial of pink balloons, teddy bears, and Thanksgiving plates now lines the ditch where the Altima came to rest. A GoFundMe titled “Jaylah & Nova-Rae’s Final Expenses” surpassed $60,000 in less than 24 hours.
“Drive sober or don’t drive at all,” State Police Troop A tweeted Friday. “One bad decision stole two beautiful lives before they even got started.”
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the BMW prior to the crash is asked to call LSP at 225-754-8500.
Rest easy, Jaylah and baby Nova. The table won’t ever feel full again. 🕊️🩷