Police Release Video Of Arlington Road Rage Suspect Vehicle
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW) - Arlington Police have released two photos and video (see above) of a vehicle in connection with a deadly road rage shooting on Sunday.
The first video was captured at the intersection of S. Cooper Street and Arbrook Blvd. In the video, the victim's white truck is traveling southbound on S. Cooper Street with a vehicle of interest --black 4-door BMW 535i (M Sport Package) car with dark tinted windows -- also traveling southbound in the middle lane.
"Our theory is that the victim (based on what his girlfriend told us) failed to yield,"explained Lt. Chris Cook of the Arlington Police Department.
The victim, 19-year-old Dylan Spaid of Grand Prairie was shot in the head and died.
The incident began as a dispute between Spaid and two people inside of a black sedan. Spaid was about to exit Cooper Street and merge onto the highway when the other vehicle pulled up to his side.
"The suspect probably got upset, headed onto entrance ramp of I-20, and at that point you see the suspect directly behind the victim's truck," said Cook. "You never know, first of all, who has a firearm. Everyone has seen time and time again across this country, people get really driven up over driving situations. In this instance, it escalated very quickly."
A witness told police he heard a gun shot that came from the driver of the BMW and saw hand gestures from Spaid's truck. The driver of the BMW stopped in the main lane of the highway after he saw the witness following him, who was trying to get the suspect's plates. Thus, the witness held back (out of fear) and the suspect took off.
Cook said police now believe there was a passenger in the BMW, and that it may be a woman.
"If they're an active participant in this, there's a chance there could be criminal charges down the road -- they need to do the right thing, come forward, and tell us kinda exactly what happened," said Cook. "We know that it's just a matter of time before we get them identified anyway."
Kristina Huggins, Spaid's girlfriend was in the passenger seat of his truck. She managed to unbuckle her seat belt, reach over her dying boyfriend and steer the vehicle away from traffic. The truck crashed into a tire shop's sign less than a mile away from where the shooting happened. Huggins suffered a deep cut to the head. She was treated at a hospital and later released.
Police do not know what happened between Spaid and the suspect that would have initiated such violence. It may have been a dispute over which driver was supposed to yield.
Police say they do not believe this road rage shooting is linked to other similar attacks in Mesquite and North Richland Hills.
A total of three people have been shot this week in road rage incidents throughout the metroplex.
