Inset: Anayely Lovato Guerrero (NCPD). Background: The area in S.C. where Guerrero allegedly killed a 2-year-old in a hit-and-run crash (Google Maps).
A 27-year-old woman in South Carolina is accused of killing a 2-year-old girl, allegedly striking the child with her pickup truck before fleeing the scene — though her family is publicly disputing that narrative.
Anayely Lovato Guerrero was arrested and charged with hit-and-run with death and reckless vehicular homicide in connection with the Sept. 9 death of Haisha Dominguez Marin, records show.
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According to a press release from the North Charleston Police Department, officers responded around 8:45 p.m. to the area near Rivers Avenue and Eagle Drive regarding reports that a child had been struck by a vehicle. Upon arriving, first responders found Haisha, who was already dead.
Investigators identified a 2020 Toyota Tacoma as the vehicle they believed killed the child, locating it at a North Charleston address the following day. Police spoke to Guerrero, who said she had left a Goodwill store around 8:40 p.m. and heard a “bang” while driving, but “didn’t notice anything,” according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by local ABC affiliate WCIV.
During Guerrero’s first court appearance, an officer testified that surveillance footage showed a vehicle traveling about 65 mph in a 45 mph zone near the crash. The recording also captured a “loud thud,” although the impact itself was off camera, according to a report from the Post and Courier.
Police reportedly said the driver got out after the sound and checked the vehicle before leaving when she apparently found no damage.
Guerrero’s brother, Frencio Lovato Guerrero, challenged that account, telling the Post and Courier that his sister did not realize she had struck the child.
He further claimed that another vehicle had already fatally hit Haisha and that Guerrero only drove over the girl’s body afterward. He stated that because it was dark and police had not yet arrived, Guerrero had no reason to know what she had hit.
The brother also pushed back against the officer’s testimony about the driver leaving the truck, saying his sister never got out to inspect it.
He further argued that investigators focused on Guerrero’s light gray Tacoma because it was easier to distinguish on surveillance video than other vehicles that passed through the area that night, the Post and Courier reported.
North Charleston police spokesperson Anthony King told the newspaper that investigators had probable cause to arrest Guerrero but declined to publicly explain how they determined she was driving the vehicle that fatally struck Haisha.
“As to the specifics of the investigation, those will come out in court at trial,” King wrote in an email.
Police also announced that the victim’s guardian, 21-year-old Glaimar Alejandra Ramirez Dominguez, was arrested, alleging that it was the second time in as many weeks that Haisha had been left to wander that street unsupervised. A driver allegedly had to stop and save Haisha after finding her alone in the middle of the road wearing just a diaper on Aug. 25, WCIV reported.
Guerrero is being held in the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center without bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 30, records show.
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