Search continues for Arlington hit-and-run driver that killed Marine reserve on her way to drills
ARLINGTON, Texas - Police in Arlington are looking for the hit-and-run driver who caused a deadly crash over the weekend.
It happened Sunday morning on I-20 near Matlock Road.
Witnesses say they saw a pickup truck hit someone who had stopped on the side of the road. The pickup truck driver never stopped.
The victim, 21-year-old Areauna Laws, was having car trouble and was standing outside when she was hit. She died at the scene.
Officers found the truck abandoned at a nearby shopping center but have not found the driver.
The 21-year-old Marine Corps reserve was on her way to drills. Police say she was fixing a flat tire when she was hit by a truck that never stopped. Police are now searching for the driver.
As a child, many things scared Areauna.
"She was afraid of her shadow. Literally, she was afraid of her shadow," said her father, Lawrence Laws.
But Areauna grew up to become brave as a reserve in the United States Marines.
"She was such a champion, and she would give herself to trying to overcome fears," Lawrence said. "She wasn’t the best runner. She was not the best jumper, but she had the biggest, brightest heart."
The 21-year-old was in uniform driving to drills early Sunday morning. Arlington police say Areauna had a flat tire and pulled onto the shoulder of I-20 near Matlock Road.
"And when she was working on the flat tire, she was struck by the suspect," said Arlington Police Sgt. Alex Rosado. "We had plenty of witnesses call and report that the truck was driving erratically as it was coming to the scene, even driving on the shoulder right before it struck Ms. Laws."
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The driver did not stop. Officers found the suspect’s pickup truck abandoned in a nearby shopping center parking lot.
"I don’t want to go into exactly what was in the truck, but I can say that we believe that alcohol played a major role in this incident," Rosado said.
"She left enough of an influence here to be a voice, to potentially, hopefully, bring awareness to an issue of safety on these highways. There’s so many accidents," Lawrence said.
And this accident means Lawrence and Sharon Laws will never see their only daughter, one of four children, again.
"She was genuinely good-hearted, good-natured, you know," Lawrence said.
The Laws point out they are not the only ones at a loss. Areauna was engaged to be married.
"I think that was amazing that in spite of the tragedy of it all, in spite of a short life, that she was able to experience falling in love," Lawrence said.
No arrests have been made. Police say the abandoned truck is a 1975 Chevy Cheyenne, a very distinct truck.
Anyone with information on the driver is asked to call police.