A Dallas man faces multiple charges after allegedly stealing a car while a passenger remained in the vehicle, driving it at high speeds, crashing, and subsequently killing the passenger.
Darion Thomas, 26, was booked into Dallas County jail on March 10 on charges of murder in the first degree, robbery, theft, and assault on a security officer in lieu of a $1,005,000. He was arrested by officers from the Dallas Police Department at the scene of a gruesome crash in which Thomas sustained two broken legs and 32-year-old Karen Mariela Cardona died.
The fatal crash occurred just a mile away from Fox Gas Station, located in the 100 block of Murdock Road. At the gas station, Thomas allegedly spotted two individuals leave their 2018 black Honda Accord running as they entered the station sometime before 12:50 a.m. He reportedly hopped inside and drove off, with Cardona — a passenger — still lying down in the backseat.
An affidavit obtained by NBC 5 DFW stated that Thomas later told a witness that he planned to take the Accord to use it to drive to work. However, he reportedly took a curve on Murdock Road at extremely high speeds and lost control of the car, crashing into a utility pole.
Thomas reportedly claimed he was traveling at 260 miles per hour when he crashed, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
DPD public information officer Jesse Carr and Fox 4’s reporter shared a sense of skepticism about whether this detail was accurate.
Both Thomas and Cardona were ejected from the Accord during the crash, according to witnesses.
“Unfortunately, the lady had already passed away. The guy was alive,” Mireya Diaz told NBC 5. “She was bleeding out of her head, and the guy had a broken leg or something.”
The incident occurred in Council Member Tennell Atkins’ District 8, which had logged 180 motor vehicle thefts in 2024 as of March 11, according to data from the City’s crime analytics dashboard. This is the district’s most prevalent crime, behind simple assaults and drug offenses.
Motor vehicle theft has skyrocketed in Dallas recently, with 2024 already outpacing the year prior. A total of 18,849 reports have been filed, a 40.6% uptick from 2022.
DPD has struggled to curb crime overall due to a longstanding officer shortage. Just 3,000 officers are fielded despite a City report calling for a force of 4,000 to ensure public safety.
Downtown Dallas has seen growing rates of motor vehicle theft, recently logging 60 times more than Fort Worth’s downtown area, according to a comparative study by the Metroplex Civic & Business Association. Fort Worth patrols its city center with a specialized neighborhood police unit and private security guards.
Dallas City leaders opted to budget DPD just $654 million this fiscal year, far less than the spending levels on police seen in other high-crime jurisdictions, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.