Earlier this week, two cyclists in their 60s were mowed down in a hit-and-run near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Video footage captured the moment when a group ride down Airport Road took a frightful turn. A white Subaru Forrester can be seen ramming two cyclists from behind, causing them to fall off and into the road. The vehicle then slows for a brief moment before taking off again, running over one of the cyclists in the process.
“All of a sudden, something pushes me from behind,” 69-year-old Tom Geppert, a retired physician, told Fox 4 KDFW. “Then I could feel myself falling from the right, and then that’s pretty much the last thing I remember.”
He went on to explain how he had lost consciousness prior to the vehicle tire passing over both his thigh and bike, noting how he believes the bike somehow created a bit of a buffer. He was hospitalized for a concussion, fractured rib, and hamstring injury.
“Just overall amazingly lucky that I’m still alive,” Geppert told Fox 4.
The other cyclist, 65-year-old Deborah Jo Eads, was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Fellow cyclists are being credited with not only springing to action to render aid to Eads and Geppert but also tracking the suspect to the parking lot of a nearby convenience store.
The suspected driver, Benjamin Hylander, a 31-year-old American Airlines cargo worker, was arrested by DFW Airport police after allegedly failing a breathalyzer test. Empty cans of Voodoo Ranger Juice Force and Coors Light were reportedly found in and around his SUV.
Hylander has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle. His bond was set at $15,000, which he appears to have paid, as he no longer appears in Tarrant County Jail inmate records.
He is being withheld from service, according to a statement from American Airlines, per CBS News Texas.
Another hit-and-run involving an allegedly drunk driver in Dallas last weekend had fatal consequences, as covered recently in The Dallas Express. Juan Morgan Munoz, 31, allegedly struck a pedestrian near Storey Lane and I-35E. Responding officers reportedly found a severed arm in the passenger seat of his white BMW. The victim’s identity has yet to be released.
Alcohol has been behind a considerable number of fatal collisions in Dallas, data from the Texas Department of Transportation suggests. Last year, 64 of the 196 fatal collisions logged involved alcohol, resulting in 72 people killed.
The Dallas Police Department is already grappling with an officer shortage, with just around 3,000 officers fielded despite a City report recommending a force of 4,000 to ensure public safety and adequate police response times. Compared to other high-crime jurisdictions, DPD also disposes of a much smaller budget. City leaders voted in a budget of $654 million for the department this fiscal year.