Family Grieves After Sons Ages 12 And 25 Killed The Same Way

One family was left feeling as though the world had stopped after losing not one but two sons, exactly three months apart. Making matters worse, the brothers, who were 12 and 25 years old, were even killed the same way.

Three months after Jason Penkacik and his wife Shawnee lost their 12-year-old son, Brighton, the grieving Florida parents woke up to a knock at the door early one Friday morning. It was the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office with news no parent ever wants to hear. The Penkacik’s 25-year-old son, Dalton, had been killed exactly three months to the day that Brighton had lost his life. Shockingly, the older brother had died the same way his younger brother did.

According to authorities, at approximately 1:15 a.m. on that fateful Friday, a Jacksonville police officer was en route to an unrelated call when something lying across the inside southbound lane of the 4500 block of Blanding Boulevard caught his eye. It appeared to be a man in his mid-20s after being struck by a driver who then “fled the scene without rendering aid, calling for help, or reporting the incident,” the Florida Times-Union reported. The hit-and-run victim, later identified as Dalton by the Penkaciks, was pronounced dead at the scene by Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department personnel. The 25-year-old had been walking to his job at an Amazon delivery center when he was struck and killed in the overnight hit-and-run accident—just 2 On the day he was hit, Brighton was walking on a Lane Avenue sidewalk with a younger brother when a dog started chasing the two boys. In an attempt to escape the dog, Brighton ran into the roadway and was struck by a Chevrolet Cruz. The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with the police in their investigation. Unfortunately, the 12-year-old boy lost his life in the pedestrian accident, and exactly three months later, his family was struck by tragedy again when 25-year-old Dalton also fell victim to the same tragic demise..5 miles from where his younger brother had died exactly three months prior when the younger boy was also struck by a car and killed while walking to school. 

Speaking with First Coast News, Jason Penkacik said Dalton had taken on responsibilities when Brighton died to help not only his parents but also his many siblings through their grief. After his untimely death, the couple, who has ten other children, said they spent most of the day explaining why Dalton was not coming home. 

When speaking to news outlets after Brighton’s death, Shawnee Penkacik said he “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.” Jason, who took to social media to announce Brighton’s passing, also called him the family’s “Bright” light.

Three months and another senseless tragedy later, Dalton’s death had left the Penkacik family with questions about how someone could hit their son and not stop to help or at least call for help. As expected, the deaths of their two brothers left the other ten Penkacik siblings quite shaken, making matters all the more difficult for the grief-stricken parents, who recalled what had become their final moments with their son and what it’s been like to try to process such immense tragedy.

Unfortunately, instead of seeing Dalton as anticipated, the mourning mother was left with questions, wondering how this could happen again—made worse by the fact that this driver didn’t even stop. Indeed, one can only imagine the absolute grief these parents and their remaining children must feel. If nothing else, it makes you want to squeeze your own loved ones a little bit tighter. Jason and Shawnee Penkacik and their unusually tragic story are a frightening reminder that life is fragile, and at the drop of a hat, everything can change as tragedy strikes—sometimes twice. So, count your blessings, then hug your kids and tell them that you love them—just as Jason suggested—because tomorrow is never promised.