Fort Worth police are asking the public for help locating a suspect in a fatal hit-and-run that occurred in September.
Victor Medina Ramirez, 27, is believed to have fled the scene of a crash with another vehicle near Highway 121 South and the Sylvania Bridge in Fort Worth just after midnight on September 24.
“We had a vehicle that was traveling southbound into downtown Fort Worth, traveling at a high rate of speed, slammed into another vehicle, and then that individual fled [the] scene on foot,” said Fort Worth Officer Buddy Calzada, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
Meagan Roiter, 30, died of several blunt force injuries sustained in the collision, while another woman, who was driving, lost her unborn child.
“There was just so much about her that we loved,” said one of Roiter’s friends, Rubi Barnes, according to Fox 4. “She was just one of the most generous, selfless people out there. So forgiving. One of the biggest hearts I knew.”
The responding officers did speak to Ramirez at the scene prior to him slipping away. He allegedly confessed to having been involved in the crash, yet he was not taken into custody as the preliminary investigation was still ongoing.
“It’s kind of tricky,” Calzada explained. “Police officers have to gather all the facts. They can’t just arrest somebody on their word, we have to gather a lot of information, and that’s what our detectives spent their time doing through the night, all into the next day.”
Yet by the time the investigation had yielded enough evidence to issue a warrant for Ramirez’s arrest, he could not be located.
Anyone with information about the suspect’s whereabouts is urged to call Officer Billy White at 817-994-0547.
The metroplex saw several hit-and-run incidents last year, including a fatal hit-and-run that left two sisters dead as they waited for a tow truck after having an accident on International Parkway in late December, as covered in The Dallas Express.
Dallas has become a scourge for vehicle-related offenses, with 18,807 motor vehicle thefts in 2023, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard.
Such incidents drain the stretched resources of the Dallas Police Department, which fields approximately 3,000 officers — far fewer than the 4,000 previously recommended by a City report for a municipality the size of Dallas.
Downtown Dallas has become a hot spot for crime due to this officer shortage. Monthly studies conducted by the Metroplex Civic & Business Association show that much more crime occurs there compared to Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is patrolled by a special police unit and private security guards.