Dallas, TX

Yes, Dallas police are cracking down on reckless drivers

Published

5 months ago

July 18, 2025

Yes, Dallas police are cracking down on reckless drivers

If you haven’t seen any crazy drivers around North Texas lately, you haven’t been on the roads. Motorists treat red lights as stop signs — or ignore them altogether. They zoom at 55 mph on streets with a posted 35 mph speed limit. They slalom down freeways, distracted by cellphones.

Many of us picked up bad habits during the pandemic, when roads were empty, and it’s time to unlearn them now. Thanks to the Dallas Police Department, which has a new focus on traffic enforcement, reckless drivers could soon learn that those bad habits can be very expensive. The department launched Operation Slowdown to crack down on dangerous motorists.

In two weeks, officers have handed out 2,058 citations and 339 warnings. They’ve used data to scan the city for locations with the highest number of speeding-related crashes and have increased enforcement in those places.

Cynics may grouse that the city just wants to issue citations to collect fines. For our part, we welcome safer streets and more police presence, and we suspect most Dallasites do, too. Traffic wrecks are far more costly, to people and property, than most drivers realize.

For the past two years, Dallas has experienced a little more than 200 traffic fatalities annually. There were tens of thousands of wrecks during that period, and many of those caused injuries and property damage.

It would be interesting to know how much money the city of Dallas spends cleaning up after preventable wrecks. A Wednesday afternoon crash in north Oak Cliff on Beckley Avenue involved a Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus, a FedEx delivery truck and at least two passenger cars. All were badly damaged, with debris scattered across the entire intersection.

A large traffic light was knocked down, and the delivery truck ended up mashed against a utility pole, which thankfully didn’t break. Two ambulances, a fire truck and multiple units from DART and Dallas police had to secure the scene, direct traffic and investigate what happened. We couldn’t obtain the accident report by the time of this writing, but we wonder whether speeding — perhaps someone trying to beat a red light at that broad intersection — factored in the mishap.

Most traffic accidents aren’t accidental. They may be unintended, but there are specific factors that often produce wrecks: speeding, distractions, failing to yield during left turns, alcohol and drug use, and running red lights. We know how to drive more safely — and if we forget, Dallas police officers will be waiting to remind us.

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If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com

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Dallas, TX

Dallas, Mesquite police investigate double murder-suicide

Published

6 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

article

DALLAS – A Dallas Police investigation into a double homicide continues after the suspected gunman was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Mesquite, authorities announced.

Double murder-suicide investigation

What we know:

Dallas officers responded to a shooting call in the 15800 block of El Estado Drive in Far North Dallas at 2:40 p.m. on December 11, 2025. The preliminary investigation determined that two people had been shot.

The victims were identified as 24-year-old Arlina Sander, who died at the scene, and 27-year-old Darvilease Washington, who was taken to a local hospital where he later died.

Detectives quickly identified a possible suspect and a suspect vehicle registered in Mesquite. As Dallas detectives prepared an arrest warrant, they were notified by the Mesquite Police Department about a shooting in that city.

Suspect found dead in Mesquite

The suspect in the El Estado homicides was found dead in the 1000 block of Craig Drive in Mesquite, having suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The suspect’s vehicle was found in the driveway.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner has identified the man as 44-year-old Jonathan Lakill Mantoy Jones. His time of death was just after 5 p.m., according to the M.E. report.

What we don’t know:

The motives and circumstances surrounding the offense are still under investigation.

Dallas Police ask anyone with information to contact Detective Paul Johnson at 469-271-6328 or via email at paul.johnson@dallaspolice.gov.

The Source: Information in this article is from the Dallas Police Department.

Far North DallasMesquiteCrime and Public Safety

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Dallas, TX

Dallas-Fort Worth might see some sunshine on Sunday. Will the coming week be cloudy?

Published

18 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Dallas-Fort Worth might see some sunshine on Sunday. Will the coming week be cloudy?

After a gloomy Saturday, cold temperatures moved through Dallas-Fort Worth through the evening, though the area is expected to see some sunshine on Sunday.

Temperatures are forecast to reach a high near 43 on Sunday with early morning wind chills in the 20s or lower for parts of North Texas, according to the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office.

Nighttime temperatures are likely to drop to a below-freezing 28, with wind gusts calming down in the evening after reaching as high as 30 mph during the day.

The coming week is expected to be somewhat sunny, barring some cloud cover during the night.

Starting Tuesday, the weather is supposed to get warmer with daytime temperatures in the 60s and 70s.

The latest Dallas weather forecast from KXAS-TV (NBC5):

SUNDAY (HANUKKAH BEGINS): Partly sunny, breezy and much colder. High: 44. Wind: N 10-20 mph.

MONDAY: Mostly sunny and chilly. Low: 28. High: 53. Wind: SE 5-10 mph.

TUESDAY: Mixture of sun and clouds, mild. Low: 43. High: 63. Wind: S 10-15 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny and warmer. Low: 53. High: 71. Wind: S 10-20 mph.

THURSDAY: Plenty of sunshine, warm. Low: 56. High: 71. Wind: N 5-10 mph.

FRIDAY: Mostly sunny and pleasant. Low: 47. High: 67. Wind: SE 5-10 mph.

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Dallas, TX

Participants share their experience as BMW Dallas Marathon weekend begins.

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Participants share their experience as BMW Dallas Marathon weekend begins.

The BMW Dallas Marathon is in full swing this weekend. Events started Friday night and will run through Sunday.

Saturday morning included a 10K, 5K, and the kids’ 100-meter dash, but Sunday is the big day so many runners have been training for.

From young runners to older runners, thousands participated in Saturday’s events, including one of Santa’s elves.

“Santa made me work today,” said John Schmidt, who participated in the 5K dressed as Santa’s finest.

Myrna Besley came from Colorado to jog the BMW Dallas Marathon 5K on Saturday morning, pushing her grandson along the way.

“My daughter is a runner, we do this to go along with her, she’s way ahead of us, and she’ll be running in the marathon tomorrow,” Besley said.

Teachers Caroline Menzia and Emma Gayle took a break from the classroom to hit the pavement.

“We work hard every day in our job, and I don’t know, we wanted to push ourselves outside of our work, to do something for us that we can accomplish,” said Menzia.

Organizers said while a lot goes into planning this event, it’s important for runners to enjoy the journey it’s taken to get here.

“Have some fun, smile, it’s hard, getting to the finish line is not easy,” Jason Schuchard, president of the BMW Dallas Marathon, said. “But just relax, trust your training, and just remember to smile.”

If you’re one of the thousands of runners running on Sunday, organizers said to arrive early, stay hydrated, and stay warm.

“Come early, park early, make yourself comfortable, you don’t want to stress out,” said Dr. Logan Sherman, chairman of the BMW Dallas Marathon. “It’s going to be cold, so bundle up and any clothes or any items you want to discard before you get to the start, please know that you can discard it on the side of the corral right before you’re about to take off.”

There will be many road closures in Downtown Dallas on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit: https://dallasmarathon.com/.

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