A man is behind bars Wednesday night, facing manslaughter charges after a deadly hit-and-run that may have stemmed from road rage.
Witnesses told police the victim was severely beaten and run over on the side of the road after an alleged altercation with the suspect, Aaron Turner.
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WATCH HEREIt happened Saturday just before 4:30 p.m. at the 1100 block of North FM 51 near Scroggins Road in Springtown. Security cameras in Springtown captured the moments the driver of a pickup truck sped away from what was described by onlookers as a possible road rage incident.
Spokesperson Christina Derr told NBC 5 witnesses described to arriving police officers what they’d just seen.
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SIGN UP “They learned from eyewitnesses that two adult males had gotten into a verbal, turned physical altercation,” Christina Derr, City of Springtown Assistant City Administrator.
Witnesses told police the driver of the truck, later identified as 24-year-old Aaron Turner, broke the rearview mirror off the 60-year-old male victim’s car; then there was a physical altercation.
“The suspect in the case re-entered his vehicle and proceeded to drive off, striking and possibly dragging the victim in the process,” Derr said.
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The injured man, identified as Ronald Smith, was airlifted to a hospital in Fort Worth. Police, with the help of the public, eventually caught up with Turner within 48 hours.
He was originally charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Smith, however, died Tuesday evening, upgrading Turner’s charges to manslaughter.
“Without the work of our officers and neighboring law enforcement agencies and, of course, the information we received from eyewitnesses and other people in the public, we would not have been able to make an arrest as quickly as we did,” Derr said.
Aaron Turner's bond is set at $250,000. Police told NBC 5 the investigation is ongoing.
