Suspect awaiting indictment for crash that killed Grand Prairie 12-year-old boy
Man awaiting indictment for deadly hit-and-run crash
21-year-old Damien Torres was arrested for the crash. Investigators are still waiting on toxicology results to see if he'll face even more charges. The suspect is still in jail, but the family says their hearts and minds are still on 12-year-old Yahir.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - A grand jury later this month will hear evidence in the case against a driver arrested for causing a hit-and-run crash that killed a 12-year-old boy in Grand Prairie.
Yahir Angel Flores was killed last month when a Mustang hit the Honda he was riding in.
21-year-old Damien Torres was arrested for the crash. Investigators are still waiting on toxicology results to see if he'll face even more charges.
Yahir’s family is still heartbroken after the 12-year-old’s death. The suspect is still in jail, but the family says their hearts and minds are still on Yahir.
The bond Yahir had with his family is special. His sister, Sandra Gallardo, spoke on behalf of her father, who only speaks Spanish.
"He would always tell him that he wanted to be like his dad. My dad, he cooks. So he wanted to be a chef like him," she said.
Grand Prairie police say the 12-year-old was fatally injured in a hit-and-run accident on South Beltline Road on June 21.
"It has been a really difficult time for all of us because we remember him all the time, especially since the accident was close to our home," Gallardo said.
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Man arrested after allegedly fleeing deadly Grand Prairie crash
A juvenile passenger inside one of the cars in the crash died.
Police say 21-year-old Damien Torres was speeding in a silver Mustang when it hit a Honda Sedan that was turning left from Beltline onto East Cober Drive.
Flores was riding in the front passenger seat of the Honda. Gallardo was driving. They were just coming back from getting food when they were hit.
"I stopped so I could turn. I checked around. There were no cars coming," she recalled. "I didn’t see any cars coming, so I went. And that’s when everything happened. It was shocking for me."
According to Torres' arrest warrant affidavit, several witnesses told police Torres was driving erratically and going more than 90 miles per hour in the 45-mile-per-hour zone on Beltline.
"He was going pretty fast for him to hit me that hard," Gallardo said.
Torres ran off that night. The affidavit says multiple people at the scene identified him as the suspect.
"At that moment, I wasn’t really thinking about that because… what happened to my brother," Gallardo said. "I wasn’t really thinking about him, just my little brother."
The suspect turned himself in to authorities the following day. He’s facing four charges, including manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the deadly weapon being the Mustang.
Grand Prairie police say they're still waiting for a toxicology report on Torres and the medical examiner’s report. He remains in the Dallas County jail.
Yahir’s father rushed from work when he heard about the accident. He had a message for other drivers.
"He wants young drivers to realize that driving fast is not a smart idea because it causes pain to other families," Gallardo said.
Authorities say there’s a possibility Torres’ charges could be upgraded to intoxicated manslaughter depending on test results.
A Dallas County grand jury will hear two of his charges, accident involving death and accident involving injuries, next Friday.