Home at last: Father gets to take daughter home from hospital after mother died in car crash

A father who was caught in a legal battle for his daughter has been able to take his little girl home from hospital.

The uncertainty came up after James Gardner's fiancée, Heather Trimble, died in a horror car crash in Texas, while eight months pregnant.

The baby was delivered prematurely as a result of the crash, but Heather died from her injuries shortly after.

However, complicating the matter for James, was the fact that Heather was, legally, still married to a man she left three years ago.

“The amount of wrong turns this thing has taken is really mind-boggling. To think that anyone would have to deal with this on top of the original crash,” James told Fox4 News.

According to the law, because Heather was married at the time the "husband" is the "presumed father", while James becomes the "alleged father".

Then, the ex is set to file a document denying paternity, all of which will allow James to become the child's legal guardian and later update her birth certificate.

James revealed he named the couple's daughter is Hadley - a name Heather had selected shortly before she died.

He also told the local news station: "one of my largest regrets for her [Heather] is that she couldn't even see Hadley before she went”.