Allegedly drunk woman who hit and killed Dallas pedestrian previously charged with 2 DWIs, records show
DALLAS - A woman who was allegedly drunk when she hit and killed a pedestrian in Northeast Dallas on Friday had previously been charged with 2 DWIs, records show.
Howard Graham, 63, was hit and killed while walking near Abrams Road on Aug. 25, at around 8:30 p.m., according to police documents.
Howard Graham
A witness told police that a white 2019 Chevy Camaro had hit the pedestrian and that the driver had pulled into a nearby apartment complex.
According to police documents, a witness walked up to 26-year-old Kyli Phillips' vehicle after the crash. The witness saw her exit the vehicle while "clutching an alcoholic beverage in a can." Phillips was the only person in the vehicle along with a dog.
Kyli Phillips (Source: Dallas Jail)
Investigators noticed Phillips had red, watery eyes and a strong smell of alcohol coming from her breath and her vehicle.
When police asked Phillips if she had drunk any alcohol, she told them "I plead the fifth," according to an arrest warrant. She refused to take any field sobriety tests.
Benny’s Convenience Store tells FOX 4 that Graham had just visited the business and was walking home to The Hive Apartments across the street.
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"At that time, I just blacked out," he recalled. "I had the father instincts, the dad instincts. Because two seconds later, it would’ve been my car."
Surveillance video shows Dallas police responding to the scene, but the camera didn’t capture the moment Graham was killed.
Kimberly Polen says she heard it from inside her apartment.
"I got up and opened my patio door. Looked out, and there was a body in the road," she recalled. "And it was obvious he was gone."
A photo sent to FOX 4 shows Phillips’ white Camaro being towed away. She claimed she was coming home from work in Plano and was taking a backway.
Records show that Phillips had previously been convicted of DWIs in 2018 in Van Zandt County and in 2022 in Southlake. She was sentenced to 8 days of confinement in the Van Zandt County case and 180 days of confinement in the Southlake case.
For the latest crash, Phillips has been charged with driving while intoxicated. She is being held on $75,000 bond.