Hit & Run Suspect Minutes Away From Fleeing Country
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 NEWS) - A suspect in a hit and run crash that left a 73-year-old man with severe injuries was minutes away from fleeing the country when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intervened and took the suspect into custody.
Arlington Police had an arrest warrant for Omar Mohammad, 25, and had contacted U.S. Customs and the Department of State, thinking Mohammad might be a flight risk. And they were right.
Police informed federal investigators at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday about Mohammad.
"We began a manual search to try to identify the suspect as he may be attempting to flee the U.S.," said Eric Shoberg, an agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "During this search we were able to identify the flight he was going out on."
That information came just in time. That flight, on it's way to Jordan, was already on the tarmac and ready to depart.
Agents intervened and pilots were notified they needed to turn around and head back to the gate.
Agents then entered the plane and took Mohammad into custody.
It was the second time he had tried to evade police.
Police say Mohammad was driving a blue Honda Civic when he jumped a curb along Ascension Blvd. in Arlington and hit Terry Pinkston, 73, from behind.
Pinkston rode on the hood of the vehicle for several seconds, until the driver hit the brakes, and Pinkston was thrown off, according to Arlington police.
Pinkston sustained a shattered pelvis, and broken ribs and vertebrae.
Police asked for the public's help in identifying a suspect and more than 50 tips came in.
One tip broke the case open.
The tipster led police to the suspect's vehicle, which was at the home of one of his relatives.
The windshield had already been replaced and had damage consistent with a pedestrian accident.
That led them to Omar Mohammad.
Mohammad was booked into jail under a $250,000 bond and was ordered to wear an ankle monitor equipped with GPS and had to relinquish his passport.
He is charged with Failure to Stop and Render Aid Causing Serious Bodily Injury.
Pinkston's daughter, Shannon Pinkston, said her dad was relieved the suspect was caught.
"He got chocked up and then he said, 'Good!'" she said.
While Pinkston family is focused on getting their patriarch back on his feet, they also have an eye for justice.
"I choose to believe people are good. I really do and that there's not that many bad dudes out there but when they are really bad I want them to get what they deserve," Shannon Pinkston said.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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