A young expectant mother has shared the heartbreaking story of how a single night changed her life forever after a devastating car crash during her seventh month of pregnancy.

Cheyenne Salsman was a passenger in a vehicle on September 13 when tragedy struck. According to Cheyenne, the driver crashed head-on into a guardrail, causing a violent impact that threw her forward hard enough to shatter the windshield with her head after the airbags reportedly failed to deploy.

But the physical injuries were only the beginning of the nightmare.

When Cheyenne arrived at the hospital, doctors were still able to detect a heartbeat from her unborn daughter, giving the terrified mother hope that her baby might survive.

Only hours later, however, her world collapsed.

Doctors informed Cheyenne that her baby girl no longer had a heartbeat.

“I knew my life would never be the same after that moment,” she shared.

The following morning, Cheyenne was induced and forced to endure every parent’s worst fear — preparing to meet her daughter while already knowing their time together would be painfully short.

Her little girl, Axavia Lee Salsman, was born on September 14 weighing just three pounds.

Despite the heartbreak surrounding her birth, Cheyenne says the moments she spent holding her daughter will remain with her forever.

“She was beautiful,” a loved one shared. “Even though her time here was short, she was deeply loved.”

Cheyenne later made the difficult decision to have Axavia cremated and plans to hold a small memorial service in the future. Her daughter’s ashes will eventually be laid to rest beside Cheyenne’s great-grandmother — a place the grieving mother says feels filled with love and family.

Friends and supporters have since surrounded Cheyenne with messages of comfort as she continues trying to process the unimaginable loss.

And while the crash changed her life forever, the young mother says her daughter’s memory will remain part of her every single day.

“Axavia will always be my baby girl,” she said quietly.