The family of a young woman mowed down by a Dallas Police cruiser Monday while crossing the street is demanding answers.
The 20-year-old victim, Aresly Jaramillo, was trying to cross Elam Road at the 8700 block when she was struck by the police cruiser. Police say an officer was responding to a call for help in Pleasant Grove in a marked police vehicle, but without lights or siren.
Jaramillo’s family wants to know why.
Her mother, Tabita Jasso, was with Jaramillo just moments before the crash, and had no idea it would be the last time she’d see her daughter.
“I told her, ‘I’ll be back,'” Jasso told NBC 5 DFW. “I took off to the park. And I was already maybe like five, six, seven minutes down the road whenever I heard a crash.”
Elam Road is six lanes wide and the nearest marked crosswalk is nearly a half-mile from the crash site, NBC 5 DFW reported.
“There is no signal. The City of Dallas should do something,” Jasso said.
In the wake of the tragedy, Dallas City Councilman Jaime Resendez has taken steps with the city to re-evaluate the crosswalks and reassess implementing safety measures.
Resendez said, “While we have implemented various traffic calming measures in different parts of southeast Dallas, it’s clear that more needs to be done in this particular area.”
The police investigation into the crash is ongoing.
