Lyft Driver Turns Himself In After Allegedly Striking Arlington Officer On Bike
UPDATE: Arlington Police said Monday evening the rideshare driver suspected of hitting a bicycle officer turned himself after being contacted by Lyft and seeing news coverage.
Steven Turner, 37, is charged with Failure to Stop and Render Aid.
Turner also had misdemeanor warrants for his arrest out of Fort Worth.
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Arlington Police are working with Lyft and Uber to try to track down the driver who hit a bicycle officer early Sunday morning.
Investigators believe the person responsible for the accident may have been working for one of the companies.
It occurred around one o'clock in the morning on Collins Street near the Uber/Lyft pickup point at AT&T Stadium.
A traffic camera captured an image of a dark SUV or van Arlington Police believe was responsible.
"There's a neon light on the dashboard. It really looks like a Lyft ridesharing service light. Can't tell for sure," said Lt. Chris Cook.
Cook said detectives Monday were in the process of getting a warrant for the rideshare companies' GPS data to see which drivers were in the area at the time of the accident.
The department is not identifying the officer involved but describes him as a veteran sergeant. He was working an approved off-duty job providing security at the KAABOO Festival being held at AT&T Stadium.
Police say he was crossing Collins Street along the crosswalk near Cowboys Way, when the vehicle hit the back wheel of his bicycle.
Lt. Cook says witnesses in the area heard a loud boom and saw the officer fly off his bike.
According to Cook, the officer was wearing a high-visibility uniform and riding a bicycle with lights on the front and back.
"You may not have known it was an officer, until you were right up on him, but you would have known there was a bicycle crossing there," said Lt Cook.
Pictures of the bicycle released by Arlington Police show the back wheel bent.
The officer was wearing a helmet, though, and walked away with only bruises.
Cook says he's expected back at work tomorrow.
The driver faces a charge of failure to stop and render aid.
