Family speaks after teen killed by suspected DUI driver: ‘I honestly can’t explain the heartache’
Sep 4, 2023, 8:25 PM | Updated: Sep 5, 2023, 11:10 am
ROOSEVELT, Utah — A Roosevelt family and community are in mourning after a 15-year-old boy was hit and killed by a suspected drunk driver. Dominic Cole was riding his bike with a friend on Saturday in the area of 1500 East and 2000 South when he was hit.
“I honestly can’t explain the heartache that me and my family are going through right now,” said an emotional Raelynn Cole, Dominic’s older sister to KSL TV.
She said Dominic would have been celebrating his 16th birthday on Tuesday.
“He would go out of his way, no matter how his day was going to make everybody else around him smile,” she said. “He was a good kid.”
After the accident, the Cole family has a strong message for those thinking about drinking and driving.
“I honestly hope that when people see this, they get to see the pain that something like this can cause for somebody. And I hope that people learn not to drink and drive, honestly, because I can’t get my little brother back,” she said through tears.
According to the probable cause statement obtained by KSL, the driver of the car that hit Dominic was Monie Manning, 34.
The officer is quoted as saying he could, “smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her breath…I observed a liquor bottle on the back seat and some open beer cans on the back seat passenger floor…I believe that Monie was under the influence of an alcoholic substance.”
The jail document also said that Monie failed all DUI test, and she allegedly became aggressive in the police car. Monie was arrested and booked into jail. The officer requested that Monie be held without bail.
“I personally do not feel that somebody like that should even have the chance to feel what freedom is like. I really don’t personally think that she should ever get out,” Raelynn Cole said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral expenses which are expected to take place on Saturday.
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the GoFundMe account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
