Pregnant Woman, Family Die in Crash on Way to Baby Shower

A pregnant woman who previously worked for McLean company PRS Inc. died in a car crash early Saturday morning on the way to her own baby shower, according to The Washington Post.

Zarissa Ayres, 30, and four members of her family, including her two children, died in a collision with a tractor-trailer at 1:15 a.m. Saturday in Wye Mills, Md., on the way to Baltimore, according to several media reports. Her sister Regina and boyfriend, father of Ayres’ youngest child, also died.

Authorities said the crash took place at an intersection on Route 50 near Queenstown, according to NBCNews.com.

“She was terrific,” Wendy Gradison, the PRS president and chief executive, told the newspaper. “Delightful, smart, fun and full of life. . . .We are all devastated.” Ayres had been administrative office manager and staff liaison to the board of directors and had also become certified in psychiatric rehabilitation, the Post reported. PRS stands for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services.

A baby shower invitation posted on Ayres’ Facebook page notes the unborn baby’s name as Zoe; the shower was scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at a Baltimore address.

Zarissa Ayres was from Greenbush, Md. and a graduate of Nandua High School in Onley, Va., according to USA Today.

PHOTO of Zarissa Ayres from Facebook

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