UPDATED: Suspected drunk driver hits car at Skillman and Mockingbird in Dallas, kills driver

by PegNews wire

There were a couple of drunk driving fatalities this weekend, but the circumstances of this one, in which a driver of a white Toyota hit another at the intersection of Skillman Street and Mockingbird Lane in Dallas, seem odd.

The story says that the driver was seen driving erratically by a DUI officer who followed him, turned on his lights and siren, then turned it all back off because the driver didn't stop, and the officer didn't want to chase him "to prevent an accident". So then the driver hits the other car, killing the other guy and embroiling a third car in the accident. All witnessed by the DUI officer? Yikes.

UPDATE: According to the DMN, the crash took place on Sunday night at 11:45 p.m., the victim was a 60-year-old man, and the driver was Jeremy Watkins, 28, who was driving a Toyota SUV. The DMN says that the accident happened after the DUI officer started to chase the driver, which is different from the CBS 11 account.

Posted by T.G.

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kirk, says:

"DUI officer"? Is that a police officer searching for drunk drivers, or an officer driving under the influence?

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1 year, 8 months ago
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Scott Doyle, says:

Probably both. He was undercover!

That would explain a lot, imo.

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1 year, 8 months ago
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Erin Rice, says:

When I was growing up, there were string of local traffic fatalities involving police officers pursuing suspects while "running silent." Officers would be driving at high rates of speed and other drivers would get hit because they didn't know to get out of the way.

If the CBS11 account is true and the officer turned off his lights and siren, I think this is a horrible mistake. At the very least a siren would alert other drivers on the road that something is amiss and they could be more watchful and <b>possibly</b> prevent being in the way of a drunk driver. Clearly there are some holes in that argument, but it just seems better than the alternative.