Utah bride, still in wedding dress, killed by wrong-way drunk driver

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Angelica Dhondup, 26, of Salt Lake City, was still wearing her wedding dress when her car was struck head-on early Saturday morning on Interstate 15, USA Today reports. Family members tell the Deseret News that Dhondup went home with a cousin, who was driving, to drop off some wedding presents and was returning to her reception when the crash occurred.

The 20-year-old cousin was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

“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,” Tayler Craft, Dhondup’s best friend, tells the Deseret News.

The wrong-way driver, identified as Manaure Gonzalez-Rea, 36, has been charged with DUI, automobile homicide criminal negligence DUI, reckless driving and failure to remain at an accident involving death and theft, USA Today reports.

Reports say Gonzalez-Rea was driving a Toyota pickup south in the northbound lane and crashed head-on into Dhondup’s vehicle, killing her. When another person stopped to help, Gonzalez-Rea reportedly stole the person’s truck and drove off. He was quickly caught by law-enforcement.

Craft tells KSL.com that Dhondup managed to call her sister after the crash.

“She called her and told her that she got into a wreck and she was hurt bad and she couldn’t breathe,” Craft said. Dhondup died shortly after the call, KSL.com reports.

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