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Arlington police seeking motorist in hit-and-run that left 21-year-old dead

dallasnews.com 4 days ago

Police identified Areauna Laws, of DeSoto, as the victim.

FILE - Shown is a Philadelphia police car with flashing lights in Philadelphia, Monday, Jan....
FILE - Shown is a Philadelphia police car with flashing lights in Philadelphia, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. Police departments reported a year-over-year increase in sworn officers in 2023 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began and since the 2020 police killing of George Floyd spurred nationwide protests and increased scrutiny of police, according to a survey released by the Police Executive Research Forum. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)(Matt Rourke / ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Arlington police are looking for a motorist who struck and killed a 21-year-old woman Sunday as she stood in an interstate shoulder after experiencing car trouble.

Areauna Laws, of DeSoto, was identified as the deceased by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. According to an Arlington police news release, officers were called about 5 a.m. Sunday on a report of a hit-and-run in the westbound lanes of Interstate 20, near Matlock Road. When police arrived, they found Laws lying in the roadway, the release said.

Witnesses told police they witnessed a pickup truck driving erratically on I-20 prior to the crash, the release said. Witnesses said the pickup began driving in the shoulder, the release said. Due to the witness statements, police said they believed alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.

Police said they believed Laws had pulled over because of car trouble, and was standing outside her car when the pickup truck struck her and her car and continued driving. The release said police later found the pickup abandoned in a nearby parking lot.

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An Arlington police department spokesperson said via email no arrests have been made as of Tuesday.

KDFW-TV (Channel 4) reported Tuesday that Laws was a Marine reservist on her way to drills when she got a flat tire. Her father told the station Laws “was genuinely good-hearted, good-natured.”

Matt Kyle, Breaking News Reporter . Matt is a breaking news reporter. A graduate of Baylor University, he grew up in San Antonio and lived in Waco before coming to Dallas. Previously, Matt has worked for the Baylor Lariat and the Waco Tribune-Herald.

matt.kyle@dallasnews.com MattKyleDMN
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