Reginald Best will never see the milestones other children will, his mother says.

At two-months-old, he died following a chain reaction traffic crash on Interstate 95 October 26.

“There won’t be birthday parties, there won’t be Christmas gifts, no first haircut with his daddy,” said Shinah Hawkins, the child’s mother, in an interview this week.

Consolation, she said, comes from her faith. “He’s in a place where no harm can be done to him.”

Reginald, who was born a month premature, was the pride and joy of the family. “He was just the cutest little thing. He had just started to laugh. He hardly ever cried.”

(All photos for this story come from the Facebook page, Justice for Reginald Theodore Hawkins Best)

Then the unthinkable happened as the Enfield area family was returning from a trip to Rocky Mount — a chain reaction crash that began when a motorist struck a 500-pound bear shortly after 12:45 that morning.

The crash occurred in the northbound lane near the 160-mile marker in the Enfield area. Hawkins, who was also injured in the crash, remembers no details because she was rendered unconscious.

The initial collision caused a second collision and then a third involving five passenger vehicles when William Noah Castaneda, 58, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, allegedly failed to reduce speed in his tractor-trailer and plowed into the other vehicles.

The trucker walked away from the crash without injuries but was arrested for DWI, reckless driving and felony injury.

Castaneda was released on $4,500 secured bond and was scheduled to appear in court on November 7. He did not appear.

Reginald was sent to Greenville but his mother said he was never expected to pull through. The Sunday following the crash, Reginald died. “My life turned upside down,” Hawkins said. “That was my first child.”

Now, as authorities try to figure out where the trucker is, Hawkins wants justice for her child and stiffer charges for Castaneda.

“The day he was born was just about the best day of my life,” Hawkins said. “I wanted a boy. Then he looked just like his daddy. It was just the best thing ever. We already knew where we were spending Thanksgiving and Christmas. We were planning on taking Christmas pictures.”

That changed October 26 and when Hawkins thinks about the truck driver skipping his court date, “The only thing that goes through my mind is why, realizing my life, my mom’s life, my child’s life were left hanging in the balance. I just want to see justice served.”

To begin the court process means finding Castaneda, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

“I think he hides. I don’t know where he is,” said the trucker’s boss, Raina Joegla, who runs Ramnarain Joeglal Inc. out of Jersey City, New Jersey.

Despite private speculation that Castaneda may have left the country, Joegla said he believed Castaneda is an American citizen.

The last contact Joegla had with Castaneda indicated he was coming back. “I’m looking for him too. He told me he was going to call me after court.”

Phone calls to a number listed on the wreck report go directly to voice mail and remain unreturned. Joegla said the same thing happens when he tries to call Castaneda. “I’ve been by his house. He’s not there.”

As the search for the trucker continues, the family is committed to submitting a petition to the federal government asking the blood alcohol content threshold for commercial drivers be reduced from .04 to zero. According to the wreck report, Castaneda registered a .13.

The petition is currently at more than 500 signatures, said Keenyn Epps, Reginald’s cousin. “We want to get to 1,000 before sending letters.”

The petition drive, which is first being conducted on the Internet site change.org, was born out of Epps’ anger over what happened. “Initially my response was anger. The suspect is enjoying his life. I was overwhelmed. I said a prayer and my response was let’s try change.”

That Castaneda is on the lam, Epps said, “Further shows we have holes in the judicial system. I don’t fault the administration but when my little cousin was in ICU the accused was out on bond. I don’t understand why they haven’t upgraded. It can be upgraded.”

If the federal government doesn’t listen to pleas for a change in the law, Epps will go before North Carolina lawmakers. “I will initially send the petition to the federal motor carrier division. If the feds aren’t doing anything I can through the state.”

Hawkins continues to carry the pain of October 26. “God is the only way I’m dealing with it today. God gives me peace, God gives me comfort and God gives me strength.”

Anyone with information of the whereabouts of Castaneda is encouraged to call the state Highway Patrol at 252-536-2224 or Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444.