Drunk driver in Arlington kills woman on motorcycle

ARLINGTON, Texas – Arlington police are investigating an alcohol-related hit-and-run accident that left a motorcyclist dead.

The accident occurred around 11 p.m. Friday near the intersection of South Watson and Webb Lynn Roads.

The driver of a Dodge Charger ran a red light and hit the bicycle of 43-year-old Julie Maldonado, police said.

She was taken to hospital and later succumbed to her injuries.

Suspected drunk driver arrested

Kenneth Polk (Tarrant County Sheriff's Office)

Police believe the driver who hit Maldonado was drunk at the time of the accident.

Kenneth Polk, 22, reportedly fled the scene but was quickly arrested nearby.

Witnesses told police they also saw Polk's Charger ram a residential mailbox and drive away.

He is now in the Tarrant County Jail facing charges of intoxication manslaughter and a collision resulting in death.

Polk's bail was set at $20,000.

The victim of the accident was a mother of three children from Arlington.

Maldonado's family told FOX 4 that she was just minutes away from her boyfriend's house when she was hit.

They want the mother of three children to be remembered as a light in everyone's life.

“She was a force. She was powerful. This is not going to go down just like that. Everyone is going to know Julie Maldonado. They are going to know her name. They are going to know what happened to her and they are going to know that they are better because of what happened to her,” said Yarielis Vazquez, Maldonado's daughter.

Maldonado's children said she was wearing all her gear and a helmet at the time of the accident.

They hope that her death will raise awareness to never drive while drunk.

Her children find peace in the knowledge that she died doing something she loved.