A 23-year-old woman, Rachel Spelman, was killed early Saturday morning in Uptown Dallas as she was walking across a street.
The incident took place just after 2 a.m. at Cedar Springs Road near Bookhout Street. According to police, presumably sourced by an eyewitness, Spelman was crossing the Cedar Springs Road when she was struck by a sedan. The driver of the vehicle then reportedly stopped, got out of his vehicle, walked towards Spelman on the ground, and then got back in his car and drove off.
The driver was later identified as John Adrian Esparza, 28. He was arrested at a hotel in Madill, Oklahoma on Monday night, and charged with the hit-and-run death of Spelman. Records indicate that Esparza later confessed on video to police that Spelman walked out in front of his car and he was unable to avoid hitting her. He admitted that he had been drinking at the nearby Concrete Cowboy bar, and fled from the accident because he was scared.
A deputy officer in Oklahoma was able to locate Esparza’s black 2015 Honda Accord based on tips from the Dallas Police Department. Esparza was staying in an Uptown Dallas hotel on Friday night, but never returned after the accident. He reportedly told his sister, with whom he was staying, that he had been in an accident. His sister later called authorities to advise them that he may have been the responsible driver for the wreck.
Both Esparza and his girlfriend were taken in for questioning following the wreck. While his girlfriend was not in the car during the accident, police think that she helped with the cover-up, as the two cleaned the car and hired a mobile windshield company to replace the front windshield. Police did not confirm whether or not they would charge the girlfriend with any crimes at this time.
Spelman was reportedly just a block away from her home when she was hit. She was a recent graduate of Texas A&M University.
Esparza has a criminal record including a previous DWI and drug possession charges, and just got his driver’s license back this last December.
