An accused drunk driver wept in court moments after being told his fiancée and unborn baby were killed after the car he was driving split in half.
Adem Nikeziq, 30, had been in his SUV with his pregnant fiancée Adriana Sylmetaj, 23, when the speeding vehicle crashed into a barrier and utility pole in Staten Island, New York, Sunday morning (January 29).
According to the New York Post, the car had been traveling at such a high speed that it split in half on impact.
Nikeziq, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, was charged with vehicular assault, drunken driving, manslaughter, and criminally negligent homicide following the fatal incident.
In court, Nikeziq alleged that another driver had cut him off before he lost control of the car. Though, prosecutors argue that the father-to-be was speeding and had been drinking at the time.
The violent crash had devastating consequences, as Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Agostino told Judge Raja Rajeswari during Nikeziq's first court appearance.
Speaking of Sylmetaj - who was seven months pregnant when she died - Agostino stated: "She was found at the intersection. Her severed leg was found 20 feet past her body. Her unborn child, ripped from her body, was found 20 feet past her leg."
Just minutes earlier, Nikeziq had burst into tears as his lawyer Mark Fonte told him that his fiancée and unborn daughter had perished in the crash.
Later outside the court, Fonte told the New York Post: "No one told him that his fiancee and baby had passed. He found out minutes ago, just before he came out [into the courtroom]. When I told him, he broke down crying, sobbing. He was at first completely in disbelief."
The Daily Mail detailed how Nikeziq is held on a $400,000 cash bail, and is set to appear in court again on Thursday (February 2).
Sylmetaj and Nikeziq were expecting their baby in April, with her brother Al recalling how excited she was to have her baby. "She was excited when she learned she was going to be a mother. It was something new to her. She couldn't wait to see the baby born [...] They were thinking on names but I don't think they came to any decision. They were planning on a baby shower."
He then added that he never really trusted Nikeziq, who he claimed was regularly drunk following the passing of his father.
Al said: "I had this feeling the outcome was going to be this way. Every time he presented himself, he was under the influence - not that he was uncontrollable, but how he articulated himself.
"He would always ask if I wanted to go have a drink. My birthday just passed and he was inviting me to go out to have a drink but I just said no thank you."
.jpg_xDMxBQ?tr=h-184)