Man dies from hit-and-run injuries in Arlington; police arrest van driver in case
A California man who was critically injured after being struck by a hit-and-run driver died in an Arlington hospital, authorities said Monday.
The driver who hit the man has been arrested, police said.
The victim was Jose Ruben Lopez, 55, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office website on Monday. Lopez died Saturday night from blunt-force trauma.
Arlington police said Gabriel Hudson, 37, who returned to the scene of the accident, was arrested. Initially, Hudson faced a charge of failure to stop and render aid.
Arlington police have not commented on whether Hudson will face a different charge following Lopez’s death.
Arlington police responded to the scene of the accident shortly after 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the 900 block of West Division Street and the initial report was that a trailer fell on Lopez. The California man was taken to a Arlington hospital in critical condition.
But Arlington police later updated the report to say that Lopez was loading a vehicle from a car sales lot onto a car hauler that was parked in the center lane on Division Street across from the business.
A van was traveling west on Division Street and hit Lopez, who was standing on the side of the trailer, police said.
The motorist stopped and parked nearby, but he was picked up by another person, Arlington police said.
The driver, later identified as Gabriel Hudson, returned to the scene with a family member, police said.
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 10:46 AM.
