Man, 70, dies in custody after Dallas traffic accident

A 70-year-old man died in Dallas police custody early Wednesday after a traffic accident in southeast Dallas, the department said.

Roy Whittaker is the second person whose death in Dallas police custody has been reported in the past week.

Police said they witnessed a driver hit a vehicle near the 9500 block of C.F. Hawn Freeway, near St. Augustine Drive, just before 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. The motorist drove away from the crash, according to police, and was stopped by an officer a minute later.

The driver — identified as Whittaker — was taken into custody without incident for misdemeanor warrants out of Dallas, police said.

About 20 minutes later, police said, Whittaker became sick and asked for assistance. Officers requested Dallas Fire-Rescue, who arrived in six minutes.

Police said the on-scene supervisor told the officers to remove Whittaker’s handcuffs. He was placed on a stretcher and taken to a hospital in an ambulance, where fire department personnel began CPR.

Whittaker died at 2:42 a.m., 15 minutes after he arrived at the hospital.

Police said the vehicle that was struck in the accident also left the scene of the crash, and its driver did not return to make a report.

The police department’s special investigations unit is investigating the death. The Dallas County district attorney’s office and the city’s Office of Community Police Oversight have also been notified, police said.