Shocking video captures hit-and-run incident involving cyclists near Texas airport
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport officials confirmed the driver of the white vehicle was arrested after fleeing the scene and failing a sobriety test. (X/@auroramyst)
A man who was behind the wheel of an SUV and allegedly drunk when he struck two cyclists, including running over one of them on a roadway near Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on Monday evening, was taken into custody, airport police confirmed with Fox News Digital.
Just before 7 p.m., airport police responded to a call regarding a hit-and-run with injury.
Officers were notified that two individuals were hit by a vehicle while biking near the busy airport, with the whole horrifying ordeal caught on video by a witness.
One of the victims was bleeding from his right knee and unable to speak, while two witnesses made sure he stayed awake until EMS arrived, according to authorities.
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Shocking video shows the moment two cyclists were hit by a driver allegedly under the influence near DFW airport on Monday. (Dallas Fort Worth International Airport)
Video provided by the witness showed the suspect, later identified by Dallas Fort Worth Airport police as Benjamin Peter Hylander, 31, traveling at a high rate of speed in the right-hand lane before he collided with the two oblivious cyclists.
The video shows Hylander, who police listed as being a cargo employee for American Airlines, briefly stopping after the initial impact and then proceeding to run over the lower half of one of the cyclists before fleeing the scene in a white SUV.
One of the cyclists who was hit, Tom Geppert, 69, told FOX 4 he did not even realize what had initially happened.
"All of a sudden, something pushes me from behind," Geppert recalled. "Then I could feel myself falling from the right, and then that's pretty much the last thing I remember."
Geppert, a retired physician, was on a ride with a group of cyclists when he was struck and described having his thigh run over by Hylander's SUV. He told FOX 4 that he credits his bike for saving his life as the situation could have been much worse.
Dallas Fort Worth Airport police arrested a man after he reportedly admitted to hitting cyclists while under the influence and fleeing the scene. (Dallas Fort Worth International Airport)
"Just so lucky it happened to be my thigh, and I think the bike kind of elevated the car a little bit," Geppert said. "Just overall amazingly lucky that I'm still alive."
Some of the witnesses told police they followed Hylander to the nearest gas station, where they were able to get his license plate and demanded he return to the scene of the crash.
According to incident records, after returning to the scene, Hylander ran up hysterically shouting, "I'm sorry," while trying to talk to the injured cyclist.
Police state that Hylander continued to apologize to the injured cyclist, and when he began speaking to police, they said they noticed an odor of alcohol on his breath and that he had glassy, bloodshot eyes.
When asked if he had been drinking, Hylander at first allegedly told officers he only had one beer an hour before getting behind the wheel but later admitted to not remembering how many he consumed, "maybe two or three large beers."
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A man was arrested on Monday after he hit two cyclists while under the influence and fled the scene, according to airport officials. (Dallas Fort Worth International Airport)
Officers then searched Hylander's vehicle and found six empty cans of beer in a backpack behind the passenger seat, according to police. Two empty beer cans were also found in a grassy area a few feet from Hylander's vehicle at the gas station.
Police entered all the empty beer cans into evidence, and it is not known at this time if the two empty cans in the grass were connected to Hylander, as the gas station was unable to provide surveillance video.
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After completing a sobriety test, Hylander was arrested for DWI and is facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge.
Both cyclists have been released from the hospital, according to KDFW.
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