Boy Hit By Car In Arlington, Driver Charged With DWI
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - A woman was arrested and charged with DWI after hitting a 10-year-old boy with her car Saturday on Ozark Street in Arlington.
Police said the boy fell off the hood and was dragged underneath the car for a short distance.
The driver, Annaliza Leal, tried to flee the scene, but neighbors chased her to her nearby home and convinced her to return to the scene.
Neighbors also raced to the scene to help.
"I heard blood-curdling screams from my backyard and it's two blocks down. And I just took off running down here to see if I can help," said witness Davene Tanksley. "We circled around him and prayed. And it was all we could do at the time. And he just kept calling for his mommy."
The boy suffered injuries to his head, hip, arm and some internal organs. Although the injuries were serious, he will survive.
Leal was also charged with speeding, possession of drug paraphernalia, and for having no insurance or driver's license.
The fact she may have been speeding in a neighborhood full of children doesn't surprise neighbors at all.
"That's what happens out here all the time, unfortunately," said Tanksley. "The only thing that slows them down is the dips in the road and that doesn't do enough."
"Sometimes they go so fast," said neighbor Mariam Medina. "And I'm like, 'Slow down!' In front of my house, I'm telling them to slow down."
Residents have complained to the city to no avail, which leaves parents taking child safety into their own hands.
"My child is not coming out," said Medina. "I tell her and I tell my little one y'all play in the backyard. You're not going to play in the front anymore with this happening."
The council member for the area, Robert Rivera, said he shares frustrations over speeders not just on that street but in other neighborhoods too. He said this case was a DWI charge, and Arlington has a special police task force cracking down on drunk drivers.
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