Tip Led to Arrest in TX Firefighter Hit-and-Run Case
By Aaron Martinez
Source El Paso Times, Texas
A 47-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday after she was accused of hitting an El Paso firefighter with her vehicle and fleeing.
Shiloh Danielle Hutchings is accused of striking the firefighter about 7 a.m. Feb. 12 as he was part of a crew of firefighters working at the scene of a car crash on Transmountain Road near Resler Drive in West El Paso, Police Department officials said.
The rescuers were working in icy, snowy conditions.
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The arrest was made through a “tip from a citizen who ‘heard something’ and stepped up provided the vital lead which led to Hutchings’ arrest,” police officials said.
El Paso Police Department officials found a 2006 blue Chevrolet Tahoe at a business on Rushing Street, officials said.
The Tahoe had its license plates removed.
An arrest warrant was then obtained for Hutchings.
Police then requested the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service's Lone Star Fugitive Task Force to find Hutchings.
Task force officers found Hutchings at a hotel on Dyer Street.
She was arrested on suspicion of accident involving serious bodily injury.
Hutchings was booked into the El Paso County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Criminal history
According to jail logs, Hutchings has been arrested at least 13 times since 1992, including for driving while intoxicated, driving without a license and assault causing bodily injury.
Hutchings was arrested in 2014 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, court records show.
She pleaded guilty to the charge in 2015 and was sentenced to 25 days in jail.
Last year, she was arrested after being accused of driving without a valid license. Court records show that case is pending.
Hutchings pleaded guilty in 2003 to assault causing bodily injury. She was sentenced to more than a year of probation.
GoFundMe started for firefighter
El Paso Fire Department spokesman Enrique Duenas-Aguilar said that the firefighter remains in the hospital.
He is in stable condition and "making progress," Duenas-Aguilar said.
The Department has not released the name of the firefighter.
However, a GoFundMe account seeking to raise money for the firefighter identified him as Armando Lopez.
El Paso Fire Department officials confirmed that the GoFundMe account was created by a close friend, Derya Cakmar, of the firefighter.
The GoFundMe account has raised more than $11,800.
A post on the account Tuesday stated that Lopez "remains in stable condition and will require a long period of recuperation."
It adds: "His family continues to express how grateful they are to everyone. The support from everyone in our community continues to be a blessing."
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