Fort Worth Police said a woman was killed Tuesday night after the driver of a different car trying to escape police during a traffic stop in Euless crashed into her. After the suspect's car hit a utility pole, the driver ran from the scene but was captured.
Tuesday afternoon Euless Police released an edited portion of the officer's dash camera video showing what led up before the deadly crash, which ended up in Fort Worth.
According to Euless Police, an officer on southbound Farm-to-Market Road 157 noticed the driver of a black Ford Focus had two different license plates, one which was expired from 2020 and another that didn't match the vehicle.
Police said in a statement Wednesday morning that as the driver turned east on Trinity Boulevard the officer turned on his lights to get the driver to pull over just before midnight. When the driver didn't stop the officer turned on his siren. Instead of pulling over, the driver sped up.
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Euless Police said in a statement that because the driver of the Focus was believed to have committed only traffic offenses, the officer did not pursue the vehicle any further, and deactivated his lights and siren then slowed down.
About a half-mile up the road, the officer reported seeing a bright flash near Trinity Boulevard and Euless South Main Street in the Fort Worth city limits. As the officer approached, he reported the driver of the Focus crashed into a Nissan Versa and a utility pole.
Euless Police said the officer reported seeing the driver of the Focus exit the vehicle and try to escape on foot. A male passenger was trapped inside the Focus, police said, and the woman driving the Versa was unresponsive.
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"He reached in to feel the lady's pulse, and shook his head and I'm assuming she's gone," said Marcus Dunson who heard the crash.
Dunson, who said he's homeless and lives at a camp nearby, ran over to try and help after he heard the crash.
"I heard another gentleman scream from around the corner over there and I went up and it was a friend of mine," said Dunson about the passenger trapped in the car which happened to be driven by the suspect. “I told him, man you got to stay where you’re at, you might have a spinal injury I can't pull you out.”
Dunson said he doesn't know the driver, but said he found him in a ditch with injuries not too far from where the crash happened.
"I hear a scream coming from down the street this way, and I looked in the ditch and there’s another guy in the ditch, he ran from the scene of the accident and dove into the ditch," he said.
Medstar and other first responders provided medical aid to the driver of the Versa, though she was eventually pronounced deceased. Her name has not yet been released.
The condition of the passenger in the Focus is not known.
The driver of the Focus, whose identity has not yet been released, was taken into custody near the crash and is expected to be charged with evading arrest or detention. The driver may also face other charges.
The Fort Worth Police Department Traffic Investigation Unit is investigating the fatal crash.
NBC 5's Sophia Beausoleil contributed to this report.
