Three months after Jason and Shawnee Penkacik lost their 12-year-old son Brighton in a pedestrian accident on Jacksonville’s Westside, tragedy has struck the family again.
In a social media post on Friday morning, Jason Penkacik announced that another son, 25-year-old Dalton Penkacik, was killed while walking to work in an overnight hit-and-run accident just 2.5 miles from where his younger brother died just weeks ago.
At about 1:15 a.m. Friday, a Jacksonville police officer an route to another call for service discovered a man in his mid-20s lying across the inside southbound lane in the 4500 block of Blanding Boulevard, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office briefing. The man, whose name was not released by police, was pronounced dead at the scene by Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department personnel.
Police said the driver who struck the man “fled the scene without rendering aid, calling for help, or reporting the incident.” Based on evidence at the scene of the crash, police said they believe the suspect was driving a Volkswagen vehicle.
Hours later, Jason Penkacik identified the man killed in the incident as his son, Dalton: “Every day is a blessing! Hug your kids and tell them you love them. This morning my 25 year old son Dalton Penkacik … was killed walking to work in a hit and run. This is the three month anniversary of his 12 year old brother Brighton dying walking [o]n his way to school,” Penkacik wrote in a Facebook post. “This has been such a tough year and I appreciate any prayers for our family because they are needed.”
“This whole day has kind of felt very surreal,” Jason Penkacik later told First Coast News. “I think with Brighton it was more immediate. His brother had witnessed it happen, and so it was more about him, our son. Getting him through it, what he had to go through.”
Brighton was struck and killed on Friday, Sept. 1, as he walked to school.
According to police, Brighton and a younger brother were walking on a Lane Avenue sidewalk on their way to catch a bus when a dog started chasing the two brothers. After the younger of them stopped, Brighton ran into the roadway in an effort to escape the dog and was struck by a Chevrolet Cruz whose driver remained at the scene and cooperated with police in their investigation.
A day after the accident, Shawnee Penkacik identified her son as the boy killed in the crash and told Times-Union news partner First Coast News that Brighton “was the brightest light in our family of 12 kids. He had abundant joy and because he walked to school, [he] is gone way too soon.”
Dalton’s death on Friday has left the Penkacik family with questions about how someone could hit their son and not stop to help or call for help.
“I don’t know what their state of mind was, obviously, but to hit somebody and just keep going and leave them in the street to die,” Jason Penkacik said. “That was the hardest thing when we first found out.”
“How could you just hit him and leave? I don’t understand it. I don’t understand humanity,” Shawnee Penkacik told First Coast News.
Brighton’s death marked the 126th traffic fatality in Duval County in 2023, police said; Dalton’s death was the county’s 166th traffic fatality this year.
Jacksonville police are asking that anyone who has information about Friday’s incident please contact JSO at (904) 630-0500 or Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS.
Facing the aftermath of a pedestrian accident, Ovadia Law Group provides compassionate and knowledgeable support. Our team offers guidance and representation, ensuring your rights are upheld throughout the legal process. Contact us at 1-800-674-9396 for skilled legal assistance tailored to your unique situation.
Source: Jacksonville
