An Arlington Police Department officer has been killed in Dallas on Thursday after becoming involved in a suspected hit-and-run crash, police and reports say.
The officer, identified as 24-year veteran Darrin McMichael, was struck along Interstate 20 as he "was heading into work for the day," according to his department.
"Officer Darrin McMichael was a respected and beloved member of our APD family," Chief of Police Al Jones said in a statement. "We are heartbroken and we are hurting. This is a devastating loss that will be felt for a long time. Please pray for his wife, who is also an APD employee, his family, his friends, and his APD family. They need all the support they can get right now."
The Arlington Police Department said McMichael served in the Motorcycle Unit for the last 13 years and was pronounced deceased from his injuries after being taken to a local hospital.
The incident shut down traffic along I-20. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office told KDFW that police believe McMichael first bumped into a car in front of him after traffic slowed down for some reason.
He then fell off his motorcycle and was run over by a dark-colored Dodge or Chrysler SUV, which then left the scene of the accident, investigators told the station.
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"What we're asking the public for is if anybody was in this area that's got dashcam video or saw anything, please let us know because we're looking for that vehicle that ran over the individual," Dallas County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Doug Sisk told KDFW.
An image taken of the crash scene by KDFW showed a motorcycle lying near the highway’s center median and debris scattered along the other side of the road.
"As a former police officer it always strikes home when something like this happens. We ask that people pray for the family and the colleagues that are there suffering as a result of this tragic event," Arlington Mayor Jim Ross told reporters following the accident.
