A pedestrian was hospitalized on Tuesday night after being struck by a Dallas Police Department patrol vehicle on Denton Drive, near Dallas Love Field, according to authorities. The officer was conducting routine patrol heading south on Denton Drive when the collision occurred, and police say the officer was unable to avoid the pedestrian, who was walking outside a designated crosswalk. The man's injuries are not considered life-threatening, and police say he is expected to survive.
According to FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to the scene and transported the injured pedestrian to a local hospital. Police say the stretch of Denton Drive was dark at the time of the collision, a detail the department noted in its preliminary account of the crash. The Dallas Police Department says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision.
What Texas Law Says About Crossing Outside a Crosswalk
Under Texas Transportation Code Section 552.005, pedestrians crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection are required to yield the right-of-way to oncoming vehicles, according to FindLaw. That statute places the initial legal burden on the pedestrian in this case, given that he was walking outside a designated crosswalk when the patrol car struck him.
But the law does not excuse the officer from responsibility either. Texas Transportation Code Section 546.005 specifies that operators of authorized emergency vehicles are not relieved of the duty to drive with appropriate regard for the safety of all persons, nor are they immune from the legal consequences of reckless disregard, per the same statute. That dual standard means the department's ongoing investigation will need to weigh both the pedestrian's positioning and the officer's conduct behind the wheel.
A Pattern of Patrol Car Collisions in Dallas
This is not the first time a Dallas Police vehicle has struck someone on foot. In August 2024, 20-year-old Aresly Jaramillo was fatally struck on Elam Road by a marked Dallas Police squad car responding to a disturbance call without active lights or sirens while crossing outside a crosswalk, according to CBS News Texas. In February 2023, a pedestrian was hospitalized after being hit by an unmarked Dallas Police Department vehicle in the 1400 block of Botham Jean Boulevard near police headquarters, as reported by WFAA.
Denton Drive itself runs as a major commercial and transit corridor in Northwest Dallas, parallel to Love Field and the DART Green Line light rail, per the City of Dallas. Under Texas Transportation Code Section 550.062, officers investigating a crash resulting in injury or death must submit an official Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report to the Texas Department of Transportation within 10 days, a process that will apply to this case as DPD's internal review continues.
Pedestrian Deaths Climbing Across Dallas
The Denton Drive crash lands amid a broader rise in pedestrian danger across the city. Pedestrian traffic fatalities in Dallas reached a five-year high of 54 deaths in 2023 even as motor vehicle occupant deaths declined along key city corridors, according to Dallas Department of Transportation reporting cited by WFAA. Statewide, Texas Department of Transportation crash records for 2024 recorded 6,095 pedestrian-involved collisions, resulting in 772 pedestrian deaths and 1,455 serious injuries.
City officials have also identified where those crashes cluster. According to the City of Dallas Vision Zero Action Plan, approximately 7% of city roadways comprise the municipal High Injury Network, yet that small slice of streets accounts for 62% of all fatal and severe traffic crashes citywide. TxDOT safety campaign analysis also notes that autumn and winter months, along with low-light nighttime conditions, present the highest risk period for pedestrian collisions statewide due to reduced driver visibility — consistent with police reports that the Denton Drive corridor was dark when the officer's cruiser struck the pedestrian.
No further details on the pedestrian's identity or condition have been released. The Dallas Police Department's investigation into the collision remains ongoing.
