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Police arrest suspect after fatal hit-and-run in southeast Austin

Police said they got multiple calls for an urgent welfare check after people saw a woman in the road.

AUSTIN, Texas — On Thursday, the Austin Police Department (APD) arrested Ricardo Vasquez Lopez, 34, on a warrant in connection to a death in southeast Austin.

The incident happened around 11 p.m. Tuesday on Ainez Drive near Dove Springs District Park. Police said they got multiple calls for an urgent welfare check after people saw a 33-year-old woman in the road. Austin-Travis County EMS performed life-saving measures but the victim, identified as Eliana Martinez, succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased on the scene at 11:12 p.m. by Dr. Mark Escott.

Credit: Ricardo Vasquez-Lopez
Ricardo Vasquez-Lopez, 34

Homicide investigators interviewed witnesses and learned that the victim had been in an altercation with a suspect in a black Dodge Ram pickup truck. The victim was seen being hit by the truck and the truck fled the scene. On Wednesday, the Travis County Medical Examiner’s office conducted an autopsy and ruled the cause of death as blunt force trauma.

The Lonestar Fugitive Task Force arrested Lopez on a warrant for failure to stop and render aid (causing death), which is a second-degree felony. His bond has been set at $100,000.

Detectives are asking anyone with information or video of the incident to call APD Homicide at 512-974-TIPS, email homicide.apd@austintexas.gov, utilize the Crime Stoppers tip line at 512-472-8477 (TIPS), or the Crime Stoppers app

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