Police have asked the public for help identifying a man believed to have been driving an SUV that struck and killed a woman in South Dallas earlier this month.
Shortly before 7 a.m. on October 9, surveillance video footage shows a woman climbing into the passenger seat of a dark-colored SUV on Frank Street.
“She gets into a vehicle with, we believe possibly, a Black male [who] goes by the name G.G., with potentially 2-inch black dreads. They drive around, the vehicle comes back, stops right here,” explained Andrew Cyr, a detective with the Dallas Police Assault Unit, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
Next, the suspect can be seen in the footage pushing the victim from the vehicle.
“When she goes running after [the vehicle, it] takes off. She falls, hits her head on the concrete, and it appears that the back rear right tire runs over her head,” said Cyr.
The suspect then drove off, leaving the victim — later identified as 45-year-old Stephanie Whitlock — severely injured on the road.
Whitlock was hospitalized for weeks but ultimately taken off life support on October 24.
The suspected driver of the SUV — possibly a late model BMW X3 — sought by police for what is now classified as a homicide is described as 5-foot-4-inches and in his early 30s. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact DPD detectives at 214-671-3633.
A string of hit-and-runs has occurred recently in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, such as two separate incidents on the evening of October 24 in Fort Worth and Denton involving pedestrians, as recently covered in The Dallas Express.
The suspects in both cases are still being sought by local law enforcement. In the first, a person died near Highway 287 and East Rosedale after being hit by what might have been a GMC Terrain, and in the second, a woman was seriously injured after being hit by a Kia Optima while walking on the sidewalk near Texas Woman’s University.
The South Dallas incident occurred in the 3600 block of Frank Street, which is located in Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7. This district, alongside Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4, accounted for nearly half of Dallas’ 25 murders in September, with each logging six.
According to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard, last month marked a significant month-to-month spike in murders and non-negligent homicides, a near-67% increase from the 15 murders in August. Year to date as of October 27, a total of 211 such offenses clocked citywide, showing a 14% increase year over year.
Longstanding staffing issues have hindered DPD’s efforts to curb murders, with the department currently maintaining a force of fewer than 3,200 sworn personnel. This is roughly 800 less than the 4,000 recommended by a city analysis.
Downtown Dallas sees the brunt of this shortage, with the area consistently logging higher crime rates than the downtown area of Fort Worth, which is reportedly patrolled by a designated neighborhood police unit working alongside private security guards.