She has his nose and his appetite, and someday newborn Sierra Grace Wood will learn that her father also gave his life to save hers.

Born Oct. 28, little Sierra is the daughter of Brian Wood, who was killed when an oncoming SUV crossed the centre line and slammed into the family's vehicle in Washington State two months earlier.

"He would have been so excited to be a part of this process, to be spending time with our daughter," Brian's wife Erin Wood told ctvbc.ca from the family home in North Vancouver.

"Instead, it's a really hard process without him."

Police believe the Whidbey Island collision was triggered when the driver of a Chevrolet Blazer handed the wheel to a passenger so she could change her sweatshirt.

A head-on collision likely would have killed both of the Woods and their unborn baby, but Wood says her husband heroically veered the car so he would take the brunt of the impact.

A woman and two men were thrown from the Blazer. Both men died.

The crash left Wood without a husband and Sierra without the man who would have been a devoted father.

"He would have been a fabulous father -- he had read all the parenting books he could get his hands on," Wood said.

Although Brian didn't know his new child would be a daughter, Wood says he chose the name years before the pregnancy. It celebrates his passion for the mountains and her interest in the Spanish language and Latin American culture.

"It was just really representative of things that we absolutely love," Wood said.

Sierra has her father's nose and dark hair, Wood says, and is prone to hiccupping, just like her dad.

"She's growing like a weed. She likes to eat -- definitely her father's daughter," Wood said.

"It's bittersweet. I want her to have as many traits of his as possible. She really is the only living representation of him and what he was."

Wood says she's started a journal chronicling Brian's life for Sierra, including things like his love of the outdoors and weakness for red velvet cake.

"He could just be kind of this thing in her past -- intangible -- but I want to make him a bit more real for her," she said.

"I'm already talking to her about her dead father. I tell her that her dad loves her very much."

Family members have been pitching in to help with the early weeks of Sierra's life, and so has the community. The family is getting help from a memorial fund set up in Brian's memory, as well as donations of clothing from the community.

"The outpouring of love and support and everything from so many people, has been really surprising and amazing, and has completely touched my heart."

Drivers face justice

The driver of the SUV that caused the collision, 21-year-old Jordyn Weichert, has been charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in the U.S. The passenger who took the wheel, 22-year-old Samantha Bowling, is expected to face similar charges.

Wood says she will testify as a witness in the trials of both women, but is avoiding news connected to the fatal crash.

"I've been trying to not pay too much attention to that. No matter what happens to either of the drivers, it doesn't bring Brian back, and doesn't change the circumstances of my life," she said.

But she added that she has kept all the newspaper clippings and media reports recounting the heroism of her husband so that Sierra can read them one day.

"Eventually she can know the full story of what happened to him," Wood said.