JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – More than a year after a deadly crash that police say was the result of street racing, one of the survivors who was an innocent victim shared her story with News4JAX.
The wreck on July 16, 2021, on Edgewood Avenue North near Glen Street changed Chastyne Dominguez’s life forever. She lost her unborn twins and her mother.
Dominguez, who was 17 at the time, and her mother, 48-year-old Pamala Stone were just heading around the corner for a quick errand, but just before noon, according to police, their car was hit at a high rate of speed by a silver Dodge Charger driven by Kairi Hill, who investigators later learned had been street racing against Ethan Rainey.
Dominguez was badly hurt and did not regain consciousness or her full memory for several days — only then learning all she had lost.
When Dominguez shared her story with News4JAX, she recounted the first moments she can remember after the devastating crash.
“I mean, I woke up in the hospital saying, ‘Where’s my mother?’ Because my mother is, like, on my bedside no matter how many times I go to the hospital,” Dominguez said. “And for her not to be on my bedside that day was like, heart-dropping, is. you know, painful, couldn’t take it.
Dominguez awoke to the news that her mother did not survive the crash. Neither did her unborn twins.
The crash left the now-19-year-old with scars on her face and arms — both physical and emotional scars that will never fully heal.
“I was hurt. I was upset. I was angry at the world. I feel like if they weren’t racing, my mom will still be here and I wouldn’t have to feel the pain I’m feeling because she will still be here,” Dominguez said.
Both Hill and Rainey are now charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving and racing. They’ve been released on bond as they await their criminal proceedings.
News4JAX asked Dominguez what she would tell those two men.
“I would first ask for an apology because I mean apology couldn’t do anything,” Dominguez said. “I would just basically say just be cautious of people’s lives because it’s people’s, life’s too short people die, you know, left and right. And we don’t, we don’t need that.”
That’s a warning echoed by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, which has been cracking down on street racing in the months since. The News4JAX I-TEAM has been extensively reporting on it.
Roughly a year after the crash involving Dominguez, JSO announced it had made 36 arrests and written more than 600 citations connected to street racing in Jacksonville.
Dominguez now has a 4-month-old son and said she frequently visits the spot where the crash happened to reflect and remember.
No trial date has been set for Hill and Rainey as of Friday.