Tow Truck Driver Arrested For Hit & Run
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Police say they have arrested the tow truck driver who is believed to have been involved in a fatal-hit and run incident from Thursday morning.
Jazzman Beiard said she watched the victim chase the tow truck into the street, as it sped out of the Oasis Apartments in southeast Dallas pulling a silver car.
"He was saying stop, he was waving his arms and saying stop," said Beiard. He came across the street and stood in the street waving at the tow truck. And the tow made a U-turn, hit him, and kept going.
The victim, who is still unidentified, was taken to Baylor Medical Center at Dallas. He has since been pronounced dead.
Antony Smith said he saw the tow truck driver pull over down the street, but only briefly.
"He got out he walked, he looked at it, looked at it.. got back in, then all you could heat was woo…woo as he ran through the light, kept on going," said Smith.
Dallas police say they later found both the tow truck and the silver car in a private impound lot, with the driver nowhere in sight.
The truck belongs to Choice Towing. Its office is located off R.L. Thornton. Choice Towing has a history of complaints with the city of Dallas and the Better Business Bureau, which gave the company its lowest rating, an F.
One complaint reported tow trucks were "speeding through lots to grab more cars. They were driving fast and reckless. One bumped into a car while trying to remove one near it. The same driver tried to run over a pedestrian who was arguing with him."
Investigators at the scene were not sure if the truck driver from Thursday's incident tried to hit anyone.
Beiard however is not so unsure.
"There's no possible way you could have not seen him. He was waving his arms. You didn't stop. You didn't swerve over or anything," said Beiard.
Dallas Police say they are withholding the name of the suspect until he is officially charged.
A second driver also hit the victim while he was laying in the street. Both driver face a charge of failure to stop and render aid.
