An alleged drunk driver smashed his pickup truck into a Dallas police patrol vehicle early Monday morning, injuring two officers, police said.
The crash occurred in Downtown Dallas near North Field Street and Ross Avenue at 12:30 a.m., according to police. The police vehicle was badly damaged on the front end, and the truck’s airbags were deployed, according to WFAA.
Brian Martinez, a spokesman for the Dallas Police Department, told The Dallas Express that no life-threatening injuries occurred in the incident.
“One officer was treated at the scene, the other was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,” said Martinez. “The other driver was also taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries,” said Martinez.
Officers identified the alleged driver of the pickup truck as 39-year-old Henroc Davila-Beltran. Upon further investigation, DPD officers determined that Beltran was allegedly intoxicated, Martinez said.
Drunk driving is a continuing problem in the city of Dallas. In 2022, the city recorded a staggering 1,456 cases of DWI, according to Dallas Police Department spokeswoman Kristin Lowman.
This most recent incident took place in District 14, represented by Dallas City Councilman Paul Ridley.
Although no one was seriously injured in this particular incident, other cases of drunk driving across the metroplex have resulted in serious bodily harm or death for those involved.
In late 2021, an off-duty Euless police officer was killed, and his family was critically injured when a drunk driver ran a red light and collided with the family’s vehicle in Lake Worth, as reported in The Dallas Express.
In January of this year, an allegedly intoxicated driver plowed into the Speranza Italian Restaurant in Dallas, injuring the occupants of the vehicle as well as some of the restaurant patrons, The Dallas Express reported.
According to the Patterson Law Group, 58.4% of Texans believe that the state should have stricter punishments for people who drink and drive.
