Only On 8: ‘That’s my only child,’ Petersburg father grief-stricken after toddler’s tragic death

HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — A father remains in disbelief as he mourns the loss of his only son following a tragic incident that left the 2-year-old boy dead.

"It just doesn't feel right," said Antonio Gaines of Petersburg. "[There] was just so much that me and him had left to do."

According to the Hopewell Police Department, officers were called to the 400 block of South 19th Avenue for a report of a toddler hit by a vehicle on Monday, May 19. When they arrived at the scene, they found the two-year-old boy with "obvious signs of trauma."

8News previously spoke with a 13-year-old neighbor, who said he saw the aftermath of the incident in the driveway of the house.

“I was playing basketball in the street right here [and] I was only out for about 20 minutes, and before I was about to go in, I heard a loud ‘boom’ as I was walking back into the house,” Zechariah Harris told 8News on May 20, one day after the incident. “I looked over and I saw a little boy laying in the street.”

Gaines, in an exclusive interview with 8News, said his son's name was Cash Antonio Gaines. He explained he was at work when he received a call from a family friend, who said Cash had been hit by a car.

Antonio Gaines and his son, Cash Antonio Gaines. (Photo: Antonio Gaines)

Antonio Gaines and his son, Cash Antonio Gaines. (Photo: Antonio Gaines)

Antonio Gaines and his son, Cash Antonio Gaines. (Photo: Antonio Gaines)

He rushed to the hospital and was told by the chaplain that his son had passed away.

“He didn't even make it to three or four, to go to school, to get potty trained, [to] get out [of] his Pampers -- or anything like that," Gaines said. "That's my only child — so, that's another reason it hurt the most. I mean, it would hurt regardless, losing a child ... but yeah, that didn't feel good at all."

According to Gaines, police told him an arrest has been made. However, neither he nor his mother has received any additional information about the investigation into Cash's death.

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“All the adults there … how is this happening to my boy? I'm thinking he's safe there at home,” Gaines said.

LaShinda Fowler, Cash's grandmother, told 8News that she is seeking justice. She said that, though there may have been no malicious intent, there was negligence.

“I don't think that guy set out to run over a kid that morning, we know that, but [there still needs to be] accountability," Fowler said. "I want to get justice on behalf of my son, for my grandson -- [and] he may not be emotionally able to do all this, but I'm emotionally charged.”

A public visitation and celebration of life will be held for Cash, which both the father and grandmother of Cash said will be public.