A street racing crash in southeast Dallas claimed the life of 59-year-old Jose Medina Soto, an innocent driver who had just finished his shift as a cook, leaving his family devastated and searching for answers.
Dallas police said the crash occurred just before 8 p.m. Sunday near the 5000 block of Second Avenue. Medina Soto’s Toyota Frontier pickup was struck head-on by a Ford Focus driven by 31-year-old Kadishjah Jackson, who was allegedly racing a black 2006 Cadillac STS. Surveillance video from a nearby business captured the Ford Focus crossing into oncoming traffic and hitting Medina Soto’s truck, which flipped over. Dallas Fire-Rescue pronounced Medina Soto dead at the scene.
“He was my protector,” said his daughter, Andrea Medina, per NBC 5 DFW.
Relatives, expecting him home for Mother’s Day, grew worried when he didn’t arrive. His daughter-in-law, Leticia Celestino, tracked his cell phone to the crash site.
“So when we got there, I saw the truck and I was like, that’s his truck,” she said.
Jackson, hospitalized after the crash, was booked into Dallas County Jail on Monday on six charges, including manslaughter and aggravated assault, with bonds totaling $1 million. Her two passengers, seriously injured but expected to recover, have not been identified. An arrest affidavit states Jackson was driving over 60 mph in a 30 mph zone when the Cadillac swerved into her lane, causing her to veer into oncoming traffic. The impact of the crash caused the engine to be ejected from her vehicle.
“How dumb. How dumb,” Andrea Medina said of the reckless racing, according to NBC 5. Celestino noted Medina Soto had warned the family to avoid Second Avenue, saying, “He always told us, ‘Don’t pass by that street. Do not go on that street, please.’”
Police are seeking the Cadillac driver, described as driving a vehicle with Texas license plate RWF-3633, a yellow pinstripe, and damage to the rear left quarter panel.
“That’s the kind of justice we are looking for,” Andrea Medina said, urging the driver to surrender.
Instead of planning a family vacation, Medina Soto’s relatives are now arranging his funeral.
“It’s really amazing how things can happen in five seconds,” Celestino said.
Crime Stoppers offers a $5,000 reward for information leading to the Cadillac driver’s identification. Contact Detective Shaw at (214) 608-7813 or Detective Valtadoros at [email protected].