NACOGDOCHES POLICE DEPARTMENT
MEDIA INFORMATION
Issued 19 FEBRUARY 2015 9:50PM CST
Contact: Sergeant Greg Sowell, PIO- 936.559.2618
FATAL HIT AND RUN- AUTO PEDESTRAIN CRASH
Officers with the Nacogdoches Police Department are investigating an auto-pedestrian crash that has resulted in the death of a local woman.
NPD received the call to the 200 block of North Sanders at 6:33 pm. According to witnesses, Matilda Cruz, age 54 of Nacogdoches was walking southbound in the southbound lane of Sanders Street along with her husband. According to witnesses, Cruz was struck by a southbound pickup truck, which fled the scene down Evelyn Street. The victim’s husband was not injured.
A description of the suspect vehicle was immediately broadcast via radio to all police units. At approximately 6:41 pm, a Nacogdoches police officer on patrol located a vehicle that matched the description of the suspect vehicle travelling on North Street, stopping the vehicle on Starr Avenue at Raguet Street. The vehicle had damage consistent with the incident on Sanders Street. The vehicle was driven by 21 year old Justin Laird of Nacogdoches.
Cruz was transported to a local hospital by ambulance. She was pronounced dead at 7:24 pm.
Laird has been arrested by the NPD and charged with failure to Stop and Render Aid with a Fatality, a second degree felony. He has been placed in the Nacogdoches County Jail.
