Top inset: Kyle Hill. Bottom inset: Arislenni Blanco-Medina. Background: Scene of fatal car accident in St. Petersburg, Florida (St. Petersburg Police Department).
Cops in Florida say after a man and his ex-girlfriend had an argument Sunday night, she hopped in a car and left with a friend.
The man, 33-year-old Kyle Hill, allegedly drove south on 34th Street near 30th Avenue North in St. Petersburg in search of her when he spotted a Honda he thought she was riding in. He proceeded to “aggressively” chase and harass the Honda for several blocks, cops said in a press release.
“While chasing a car, he called her again and said, ‘I got you. I’m going to kill you, your friend and myself,’” Chief Anthony Holloway told reporters at a press conference. “But it gets worse from there. The car that he was chasing was not his girlfriend’s car.”
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Actually inside the Honda were Norbelis Figueredo-Campos, 35, along with his passenger, Arislenni Blanco-Medina, 28 — recent immigrants from Cuba who were driving to Walmart. Cops allege Hill forced the Honda off the road and over the sidewalk near 17th Avenue North, where it smacked into a concrete pole, which fell and crushed the car. Blanco-Medina died while Figueredo-Campos suffered serious injuries, including a broken femur and two broken ankles.
Hill lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree in the median, police said. In addition to him traveling 60 mph in a 35 mph zone, Hill’s blood alcohol level was 0.185, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, according to cops. Initially charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide, he now stands accused of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
“He used his car as a weapon,” Holloway said.
Figueredo-Campos immigrated from Cuba and had been in the U.S. for about a year and a half, while his girlfriend arrived a few months ago. Blanco-Medina was talking on the phone with her father and 9-year-old daughter during the incident and told them she feared for her life. Her family members heard the crash.
The victims’ families spoke at the press conference about the excitement Figueredo-Campos had when his girlfriend joined him in the U.S.
“His dream, obviously, was to bring his girlfriend, his partner, here with him so she could provide for her daughter and her parents in Cuba,” his aunt said in Spanish. “They were very ambitious when they got here.
Nicole Galvan, Figueredo-Campos’ cousin, described her as always happy and never dull.
“You would go to her house, and you would always hear music, and she would always be dancing,” she said. “Her and her boyfriend would always have music and always just bring a brighter and more positive vibe to anyone who was dealing with anything around them. They never had problems with anybody, not a single soul.”
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