21-year-old dies in hit-and-run on motorway

According to Arlington police, a 21-year-old woman was killed in a hit-and-run crash on I-20 in Arlington early Sunday morning.

The victim, 21-year-old Areauna Laws, was found unconscious and pronounced dead at the scene, police said, according to Fox 4 KDFW.

Police suspect that Laws had parked on the shoulder of the highway due to a car breakdown and was standing outside when she was hit by a pickup truck.

According to witnesses, the driver of the pickup truck was driving “erratically” on the highway before the incident and also crossed the median and entered the access road to I-20.

The suspect’s truck was located in a nearby parking lot, but no arrests have been made as police are currently actively working to identify the suspect, Arlington police said, according to WFAA.

The DFW region is reportedly known for its reckless drivers: a Forbes study ranks Dallas and Fort Worth at the top of the list of cities with the worst drivers.

Dallas, in turn, has become synonymous with dangerous driving. The city regularly appears in national rankings for the wrong reasons. Notably, of the 196 fatal crashes recorded by the Texas Department of Transportation in Dallas in 2023, 64 were reportedly under the influence of alcohol.

The Dallas Police Department has only about 3,000 officers on staff, although a city report indicates that 4,000 police officers are needed to ensure public safety. Compared to other high-crime districts, the DPD has a much smaller budget: The Dallas City Council allocated only $654 million this fiscal year.