The city of St. Petersburg, Florida, is mourning the loss of a beloved single mother after a shocking drunk-driving tragedy that left even the presiding judge outraged.
Authorities say Xavier Omar Rigby, 22, was behind the wheel of a 2021 Nissan Altima late Saturday when he slammed into the rear of 38-year-old Kjersten Aileen-Hermance Strang’s e-bike at a high rate of speed.
The force of the collision sent her flying into Rigby’s windshield. Instead of stopping, police allege Rigby continued driving for eight blocks with her lodged in the car, before her body was finally dislodged and left on the road. Strang was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rigby fled without calling 911. Officers tracked him down less than a mile away at a liquor store, where he was allegedly slurring, smelled strongly of alcohol, and refused a sobriety test. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail.
Judge Blasts Repeat Offender
During his first court appearance Monday, Judge Elizabeth Zuroweste tore into Rigby’s criminal history.
“Here you are with a prior leaving the scene of a crash with property damage from 2022. Then, in 2024, the state was generous enough to reduce your DUI to reckless driving. For purposes of bond, it’s a DUI,” she said. “Here we are now … this time with extremely aggravating facts, where you’ve killed somebody, left the scene, and dragged their body.”
Rigby’s record includes speeding more than 30 mph over the limit, a prior DUI that required him to attend DUI school and a MADD victim impact panel, as well as charges for driving on the wrong side of a divided highway and an open container violation.
The judge called him a “danger to the community,” setting his bond at $750,000 for DUI manslaughter while ordering no bond for vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
A Life Cut Short
Strang, remembered as an “angel” and one of the most caring people in her community, leaves behind a young son. A GoFundMe has been launched to support him.
“She had so much love to give and cared deeply for everyone around her,” one family member wrote. “Now her son has to grow up without his mother because of one man’s reckless choices.”
Community in Mourning
The case has rattled St. Petersburg, with the horror lying not only in the violent impact, but in the suspect’s alleged decision to keep driving with Strang in his windshield.
As prosecutors prepare their case, Strang’s family is left to grieve a woman remembered as an “angel” and one of the most caring people in her community, and a young son is left to face the future without his mother.
