Police are still searching for a hit-and-run driver who caused a fatal crash that killed a 21-year-old Marine reserve over the weekend.
The incident took place at around 5 a.m. on westbound I-20 near Matlock Road.
Police said Areauna Laws had pulled over to the shoulder of the freeway to fix a flat tire when a pick-up truck crashed into her, as previously reported by DX. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
“We had plenty of witnesses call and report that the truck was driving erratically as it was coming to the scene, even driving on the shoulder right before it struck Ms. Laws,” said Arlington Police Sgt. Alex Rosado, reported Fox 4 KDFW.
Laws was on her way to practice drills when the incident occurred.
The suspect’s “very distinct truck,” a 1975 Chevy Cheyenne, was later found abandoned in a nearby shopping center, according to Fox 4.
“I don’t want to go into exactly what was in the truck, but I can say that we believe that alcohol played a major role in this incident,” Rosado said, per Fox 4.
Areauna’s father, Lawrence Laws, told Fox 4, “She was such a champion, and she would give herself to trying to overcome fears. She wasn’t the best runner. She was not the best jumper, but she had the biggest, brightest heart.”
The Laws are not the only ones grieving the death of Areauna, as she was engaged to be married.
Lawrence said, “She left enough of an influence here to be a voice, to potentially, hopefully, bring awareness to an issue of safety on these highways. There’s so many accidents.”
According to a Forbes study, Dallas ranks No.6 on a list of cities with the worst drivers, as previously reported by DX. Dallas is ranked the third-highest for drinking and driving accidents and the fourth-highest in the U.S. for fatalities caused by speeding, according to the Forbes study.
The Dallas Police Department is currently understaffed by 1,000 officers, per a Dallas City report. The report advises a total of 4,000 officers to guarantee complete public safety, yet the Department is currently staffed with roughly 3,000 officers.
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact the police.
