DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Criminal charges are likely soon to be announced against a woman whose erratic freeway driving killed a Dallas police officer.
Jacob Arellano was about to start his work shift when an allegedly drunk driver crashed his SUV head-on.
The wrong-way driver, whose name has not been officially released, is expected to face intoxication manslaughter charges following a fatal head-on collision.
As a result of the collision, the officers who arrived at the scene were injured.
A police radio recorded officers trying to stop a car traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Spur 408 around midnight Tuesday.
When the car crashed head-on into an SUV and a big rig, responding officers were surprised to find one of the critically injured victims in a Dallas police uniform.
“it just doesn’t go away … it’s going to stick in my head for a very long time,” said Sgt. Michael Mata of the Dallas Police Association.
Mata was one of the officers who arrived on the scene as desperate efforts were made to pull Officer Jacob Arellano, who was on his way to work, from the wreckage.
“It’s hard every day to see a seriously injured officer have to take him home, it’s twice as bad if not more so when it’s one of your own and a lot of the officers around him know.”
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia described the following points.
“Officer Arellano’s name was called, as always at the beginning of the shift. Only Officer Arellano did not respond,” Chief Garcia said. “It was at this time that members of First Watch started calling trying to find out where their brother might be.”
Arellano died at the hospital. He was only 25 years old and left behind an 8-month-old son.
Fellow officers lined up outside Methodist Hospital for a somber procession from there to the medical examiner’s office, where the inquest will continue. The 30-year-old road driver, who was hospitalized with serious injuries, was allegedly drunk.
Terence Hopkins, who heads the Black Police Association, says the loss of the young officer is hard to accept.
“This is a traffic accident with an alleged DWI that should never happen in this age of Uber and Lyft and all the ride-sharing companies,” Hopkins said.
Orellano’s death will be classified as a work-related death, as he was on his way to work.
JD Miles
