Arlington police make arrest in fatal hit-and-run

An Arlington man surrendered to police Thursday evening, saying he believed he was the driver sought in the fatal hit-and-run of a pedestrian crossing South Collins Street on Wednesday night.

The man, Kennedy Cox Pham, 47, came to the Arlington north police station about 5 p.m. and told officers that he felt guilty, according to an arrest warrant affidavit released Friday.

Pham was arrested on suspicion of causing an accident involving serious bodily injury or death. He was released after posting $20,000 bail, police said in a news release.

Nghi Pham, 71, of Arlington, was struck about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 3300 block of South Collins Street at East Mayfield Road. It appeared that he was not in a crosswalk when a southbound vehicle hit him, according to news release.

Thursday afternoon, Kennedy Pham, in an interview with traffic investigations officers, said he had heard about the fatality while attending church that morning, which is near the scene. He said he had been traveling southbound on Collins “in the same area and at the same time that the fatality crash” occurred, an officer wrote in the affidavit.

Kennedy Pham told police that he was aware that he struck something in the roadway but did not realize what it was, even after he “briefly stopped” to look around, the affidavit said. He saw nothing and continued to his home.

After parking his pickup, Kennedy Pham told police, he had a difficult time opening the driver’s side door and noticed damage to the driver’s side area, according to the affidavit.

Police got a search warrant for Kennedy Pham’s 2006 black Toyota Tundra, the affidavit said. They matched pieces from the truck left at the crash scene to pieces missing from Pham’s vehicle, the affidavit said.

The men are not believed to be related.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Arlington police make arrest in fatal hit-and-run."