Inset left: Vivian Rose Padilla (City of El Paso). Inset right: David Carmine O'Connor (Mt. Carmel Funeral Home). Background: The 4600 block of Pershing Street in El Paso, Texas (Google Maps).
About two months after a TSA employee was killed in a hit-and-run, a woman has been arrested for the crime, Texas authorities say.
Vivian Padilla, 19, has been charged with collision involving death, El Paso officials announced this week. The fatal crash occurred in the early morning hours on Sept. 7.
David O'Connor, 52, was riding on an electric-assisted bicycle at about 1:30 a.m. when a 2017 Kia Soul crashed into him from behind, according to city officials. The driver of the vehicle did not stop to check on the man following the impact, instead electing to drive away.
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O'Connor was wearing a reflective vest and his bike had lights on it at the time of the crash, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by local Fox affiliate KFOX. Traffic investigators arrived at the area — the 4600 block of Pershing Street in El Paso — to find O'Connor, who had been thrown from his bicycle.
He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
It was reportedly Padilla's father who turned her in to authorities. Twelve hours after the crash, the father and daughter walked into the El Paso Police Department headquarters, with the older man telling officers, "She's the one that hit that person yesterday," per KFOX.
Damage to Padilla's vehicle is said to have perfectly matched the broken car parts at the site of the crash, and there were bloodstains inside and outside the vehicle. The suspect is believed to have been on her phone during and after the crash.
Padilla was placed in the El Paso County Downtown Detention Facility on a $50,000 bond. As of Thursday, she was no longer listed as being in the jail.
O'Connor was a TSA employee at El Paso International Airport, per his obituary. He is remembered as having had a "deep love for nature and adventure," as well as "caring for his beloved pet turtle." He is survived by his parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews.