Man arrested in hit-and-run that killed Dallas 6-year-old girl
Man arrested for killing Dallas 6-year-old girl
A 67-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the hit-and-run that killed a 6-year-old girl in Far North Dallas.
DALLAS - Dallas police say the driver wanted for a hit-and-run car accident that killed a 6-year-old girl in Far North Dallas over the weekend turned himself in and admitted he hit her.
The little girl’s family says she slipped out of her home Sunday night and was hit while wandering in the streets.
6-year-old girl killed in hit-and-run
The backstory:
Police responded to a crash around 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 in the 5900 block of Belt Line Road, just west of Preston Road.
Officers found 6-year-old Destiny Wright lying on the road with serious injuries. She was taken to Children’s Medical Center, where she died shortly after arriving.
Investigators believe Destiny was crossing the street when a white Acura MDX hit her. Security footage shows the SUV pulling into a nearby shopping center, circling back toward the girl and then driving away.
What they're saying:
Mary Friday is Destiny’s grandmother.
"Everybody wants to hear the story. Everybody wants to hear why weren’t you watching her? Why didn't you do this?" she said. "There is nothing that you can say that we haven't said."
Just after 10 p.m. Saturday, Friday says she noticed her daughter's door was open, and her 6-year-old granddaughter was missing from their Far North Dallas townhome.
Friday says Destiny was diagnosed with autism and would often take off when she was outside.
"She unlocked the door," she explained. "There were two deadbolts: Bottom lock, deadbolt lock, and a chain. And we didn't have the chain on."
Friday says minutes before Destiny escaped their townhome, her husband walked to a nearby corner store.
Destiny’s grandfather was walking back home when he noticed the witnesses in the street trying to help his granddaughter.
"That helps me to know that she had those moments," Friday said. "They were best friends, and so I am comforted in that."
Friday says she’s trying to stay strong for her grieving family.
"I have a daughter who lost a daughter, and it would be selfish of me to think of what I am going through and knowing she lost her only child," she said.
Arrest of David Polley
What's New:
Authorities searched for the driver for several days before making an arrest.
David Polley, 67, was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with collision involving death, three days after the child was fatally struck.
Newly obtained video shows Destiny wandering down Belt Line Road when Dallas police say a white Acura SUV struck and killed her.
Dallas police obtained surveillance video from a business showing the Acura MDX head westbound and then head north on the Dallas Tollway.
The license plate was registered to David Polley of Lewisville. Through an attorney, he turned himself into police Tuesday.
Officers found Polley's car in his driveway with front-end damage consistent with a pedestrian strike. Polley admitted to being the driver and surrendered to officers.
Polley was booked into the Dallas County Jail. He has since bonded out.
What we don't know:
Police have not determined the exact circumstances leading up to the crash or whether alcohol or speed played a role.
It’s unclear if Polley told police why he didn’t stop.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Dallas police and interviews with the victim's family.