Driver in DUI crash that maimed 11-year-old girl sent to prison


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OGDEN — Angie Flinders believes the adage that when people choose to drink and drive, they are choosing to gamble with innocent people's lives.

"Dean (Dominguez) rolled the dice that night and lost big," Flinders wrote in a letter to the judge considering the penalty for a man who had a blood-alcohol count of .204 — more than 2 1/2 times the legal limit — when he crashed into her car last year.

As the SUV carrying eight children rolled, 11-year-old Brynnli Cherry was thrown, suffering disfiguring and debilitating injuries that cost her her eyesight and will follow her throughout her life.

"I know people make mistakes and make choices that are not meant to hurt others, but I think that choosing to drink and drive and put others in danger is very selfish," Flinders said.

Police say the May 2, 2015, collision occurred when Dean Dominguez, 41, ran a stop sign near 5500 West and 5500 South in Hooper after a night drinking with friends. He pleaded guilty in November to DUI, a third-degree felony, while additional misdemeanor charges of a right-of-way violation, open container in a vehicle, and three counts of driving under the influence with personal injury were dismissed.

Second District Judge Noel Hyde sentenced Dominguez to zero to five years in prison Tuesday, the maximum sentence allowed for the charge, calling the case an example of the grave consequences of drinking and driving.

"This case is the reason that drinking and driving is universally condemned by society, and that the choice to drink and drive in this state and in our community (carries) the highest possible consequence," Hyde said.

In her letter, Flinders described a scene she will never forget: seeing Dominguez's speeding Cadillac the moment before it hit her, the world spinning as the SUV rolled, the children in the car screaming, and their panic as they shouted that they couldn't find their sister once the vehicle had stopped.

Dominguez, of Ogden, will never forget it either. He wept as he turned to the courtroom gallery and apologized, recalling the sight of Brynnli lying in the road, her face nothing more than "blood and blonde hair."

"That's an image I'll keep with me forever," he said, apologizing for the injuries that Brynnli still battles and the trauma her siblings share with her. "I feel tremendously sorry. … I'll take this to the grave."

Photo Credit: Benjamin Hager, Standard-Examiner
Photo Credit: Benjamin Hager, Standard-Examiner

He clasped his hands and wept as he promised, "Every time I pray, I pray for Brynnli."

Dominguez said he was prepared to "pay whatever price" the judge would impose Tuesday, adding that he and his family would be the first to sign petitions supporting harsher penalties in DUI cases.

His attorney, Rich Gallegos, asked Hyde to take into account Dominguez's clean record, employment history and strong family support, recommending one year in jail followed by probation to allow him to work and pay restitution to the family.

"He's got some bills to pay and he's got things to do to try to make the victims whole," Gallegos said.

Eric Conley, Brynnli's stepfather, fought tears as he recalled the vivacious "firecracker" personality his stepdaughter had before the accident. As a peer leader at her elementary school, she would show up early each day to raise the American flag, she was preparing for a role in the school play, and she never let the fact that she was one of the smallest girls on the field stop her from playing on two competitive soccer teams.

She was also an integral part of her blended family, where the siblings from her parents' new marriages became "best friends," regularly moving between the Conley and Flinders households as they all spent time together.

Photo Credit: Benjamin Hager, Standard-Examiner
Photo Credit: Benjamin Hager, Standard-Examiner

The family has paid a heavy price in the months since the accident.

Flinders described the way her older children feel they must protect their siblings at all times, while the smallest children have struggled with fears of being in the car and seeing Brynnli's disfigurement. Conley described an especially painful moment singing "Happy Birthday" to an unconscious Brynnli on the day she turned 12, weeks after the crash.

Additionally, Conley recalled the agonizing surgeries — 10 so far, with more to go — and the associated medical bills, as well as the fact that Flinders has lost her job due to the time required for doctor appointments and caring for her daughter.

Conley agreed that Dominguez is a good person, with no criminal record and a family of his own. That fact, however, doesn't change the choice he made, he said.

"Dean is a good guy," Conley said. "He's a good father, husband, son and friend, but that doesn't mask that selfish decision, refusing two sober drivers who offered him a ride home."

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