Arlington Police Renew Plea For Help Finding Hit And Run Driver Who Killed 80-Year-Old Roy Smith
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) — An elderly man in Arlington was doing a task that many do everyday -- checking the mail. It was only after his wife noticed that he hadn't come back inside the house that Roy Smith was found lying in the road in front of a neighbor's house.
It was on January 30, 2020 when Smith was pronounced dead and Arlington police have been searching for the person who ran him down and left him for dead ever since.
Today police and members of Smith's family renewed their plea for help finding the driver. Roy Smith was run down in the 900 block of East Timberview Lane -- in east Arlington near South Collins.
Arlington police say the driver was operating a pickup recklessly when he hit Smith and continued to do so after, passing traffic stopped at red light and then on Collins as he sped away. Investigators haven't been able to identify the driver or locate the very distinctive pickup truck.
"The bad guy is this case has decided to secret his truck. He's essentially hid the pickup truck from not only the public, but from law enforcement as well," " Lt. Christopher Cook said at a morning press conference. "You should be able to go outside and check your mail and not worry about getting struck, or if something does happen let's say an accident happens you would expect people to stop, do the right thing, render aid, call the police, call for fire, EMS, but that didn't happen in this case."
Two of Smith's children, his oldest and youngest daughters, also pleaded with the public to identify the hit and run driver. Daughter Gail Smith-Crowe said it may be difficult if your family member is the person responsible but, "You can still see your family member. We will never see our dad again."
Smith-Crowe spoke about how her father's wife can't bear to open the curtains in the house ow because the window looks out to where her husband was killed. Speaking directly to the unknown driver she said, "You didn't even stop to render aid and that's what hurts the most, because you didn't care."
The fact that Roy Smith had worked hard, contributed to the community and had done nothing wrong on that afternoon make his death even harder for the family. "To live to get 80 years old and for your life to be just took senseless like that," his daughter Sylvia Smith said shaking her head. "For 37 years I saw my dad everyday, but for the last 46 days I have not been able to. So, Instead of seeing my dad now we have to wear him [a picture] on our shirt."
Calling the crime egregious and horrific, Lt. Cook said the driver knew exactly what he did. The impact was so forceful that not only was Smith knocked out of his shoes, but his glasses and ring were found a distance from his body. "This was not a case where someone was distracted on the phone and they didn't realize they hit a person," Cook said.
From surveillance video in the area police know the pickup driver was a man. The truck he was driving is believed to be a 1999 to 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab or similar style. The front right door, hood, and both front left and right quarter-panels are a lighter color (possibly primer colored), while rest of the pickup is a darker color.
Anyone who knows the identity of the driver or has information about the crash is asked to contact Arlington police Investigator Joe Shipp at 817-575-8602 or Sgt. John Brown at 817-575-8815.
Anyone wanting to remain anonymous can also contact Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477).
Oak Farms Dairy is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.
