A man accused of driving drunk and causing a collision that killed a motorcyclist in Arlington admitted he consumed alcohol before the crash and told police he did not stop at the scene to render aid to the victim, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Julie Maldonado, 43, was found in critical condition late Aug. 23 after she was hit by a black Dodge Charger that ran a red light at the intersection of South Watson and Webb Lynn roads. She was taken to a hospital where she died, according to Arlington police.
Kenneth Polk, 22, faces charges of intoxication manslaughter and collision involving death.
The arrest warrant says a 911 caller first reported Polk after they saw the Dodge Charger hit a motorcyclist and flee the scene. While leaving the area, the Charger struck a nearby mailbox, the witness told police.
Another witness told officers that the driver of the Charger did not stop or slow down to avoid the collision and accelerated after hitting Maldonado.
The suspect vehicle was found by Grand Prairie officers on Texas 360 near Mayfield Road, according to the warrant.
When stopped by officers, Polk said that âsomeone smacked himâ when he was driving from his friendâs house back to his home in Forest Hills. He said the other driver âkept goingâ when he was making a turn and did not call 911 to report the incident, according to the warrant.
Officers noted Polkâs eyes were glossy and bloodshot. In the warrant, an officer wrote he detected a strong alcohol-like odor coming from Polkâs breath.
Polk said he knew an accident happened and that he was just trying to make it home, according to his interview with police.
When asked by an officer to step out of the Dodge Charger, Polk was unsteady with his balance and appeared dizzy, an officer wrote in the warrant. He told the officer he stopped drinking at around 10:45 or 11 p.m. that day, the warrant reads. The crash was reported around 11:20 p.m..
Polk was inconsistent with answering how much alcohol he had consumed, initially saying he had two beers, the warrant says. He followed by saying he had three or four beers.
Officers conducted sobriety tests, determining Polk was intoxicated, according to the warrant. He was initially arrested on a charge of intoxication assault and collision involving serious bodily injury.
He was being held in the Tarrant County Jail Monday on a $450,000 bond.
Family members of the victim organized a GoFundMe to go toward Maldonadoâs funeral. Out of a $20,000 goal, $15,580 was raised as of Thursday.
The Tarrant County Sheriffâs Office announced in a news conference that police and sheriffâs deputies would inundate the streets over the Labor Day weekend to crack down on drunk drivers.
Maldonadoâs death is the latest in a series of recent North Texas deaths caused by suspected drunk drivers.
Willie Gunn and his girlfriend, Amber Hopewell, and her three children â all under the ages of 10 â died Aug. 19 when a suspected drunk driver, 19-year-old Eduardo Gonzalez, rear-ended their sedan on Interstate 35W in Fort Worth near the East Seminary Drive exit, causing it to catch fire, police said.
Fort Worth police officer Billy Randolph was killed Aug. 12 when he was hit by another suspected drunk driver. He was working the scene of a fiery crash on Interstate 35W at the time of his death, according to police.
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