DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- The Dallas County Sheriff's office has identified the suspect in a hit-and-run crash that killed a man while he was acting as a good samaritan to help another. The driver of the red wrecker police had been searching for since the night of August 12, has turned himself in.
Police say 25-year-old Juan Francisco Garcia turned himself in on August 21 after police issued a warrant for his arrest. Garcia is charged with Accident Involving Serious Bodily Injury and Tampering with Physical Evidence.
ORIGINAL STORY FROM AUGUST 16 PUBLISHED BELOW
The family of the man killed after a hit-and-run crash last weekend in Dallas is speaking out about his life as police confirm they have located the suspect. The Dallas County Sheriff's Office says Donald Collins, 25, had stopped at a hit-and-run crash on I-30 near 2nd Avenue about 2:30 Saturday morning.
The sheriff's office says a red tow truck hit a 2006 Chrysler Town and Country van then sped off. They describe Collins as a "good Samaritan" who stopped to help, but he was hit by another car. Collins died at the hospital.
"My husband did his part, which was serve, not just for the world but for the Lord," says Collins' wife, Elizabeth.
"He always had that savior mentality," says Collins, dad, Donald Sr.
Collins had previously served in the Marines.
The driver who hit Collins, Irma Nelly Martinez-Leal, 33, has been charged with intoxication manslaughter, intoxication assault and intoxication assault with a vehicle. Elizabeth Collins says she is not angry with the other driver.
"I pray since she still has breath in her body that she gets to know the Lord," she says. "Each time she wakes up in the morning, I pray she asks the Lord to forgive her."
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office has confirmed the red wrecker has been located by the Vehicle Crimes Unit, "thanks to tips from community members." They do not have a suspect identified at this time, they are continuing their investigation.
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