Police recover truck that fatally struck Dallas 3-year-old

Dallas police say the pickup truck that hit and killed a 3-year-old boy has been recovered in Irving, but they are still searching for the driver.

Jorge Neri was killed Saturday afternoon in a Northwest Dallas strip center parking lot.

Ramon Garcia-Ruiz, 24, is the owner of the truck and police believe he was behind the wheel when the boy was hit and killed. Witnesses say the driver never slowed down.

The pickup was found Monday night on a side street near Highway 183 and East Grauwyler Road. Police say the tags had been removed.

An Irving woman spotted the black pick-up truck. She says she noticed it on Sunday because it was parked along the street curb where her husband normally parks his car. She called 911 and, sure enough, it was the pickup truck Dallas police detectives had been searching for.

“So far, the public has done an excellent job for us with our social media posts,” said Dallas Police Det. Casey Clark. “Within 24 hours of our post going out, we were able to recover the vehicle.”

Detectives say a witness, who was inside the Chicken-N-Rice restaurant, is the one who got the license plate number. Investigators went to Ruiz-Garcia's last known address in Irving, but he wasn't there.

Ruiz-Garcia's neighbor says he hasn't seen him in days. Investigators are worried he may flee to Mexico where he has family.

“My heart goes out to the family,” Clark said. “And I’m hoping the citizens of Dallas will help us out with us. We really need the assistance on this.”

Investigators are now searching the truck for evidence. Detectives say they want to speak to Garcia-Ruiz to hear his side of the story.