HOUSTON – Houston officials on Friday said two Crime Stoppers tips they received from the public helped solve two deadly hit-and-run cases.
Houston Police Capt. William McPherson said the first happened on the 9500 block of Tidwell on April 26th or 27th. Reginald Lauderdale was hit and killed while riding his bike. Police said they were not sure how long Lauderdale had been in the ditch where they found his body that was left behind by Tawana Atkins.
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A Crime Stoppers tip led police to Atkins on Thursday. Police said Atkins tried to cover up the incident saying she thought she hit a pole. Text messages from Atkins' phone revealed she admitted to the crime.
Williams said a second suspect was arrested as a result of a Crime Stoppers tip that led them directly to David Legate, who police said drove head on into a man riding a motorcycle.
Atkins and Legate are charged with failure to stop and render aid.
Houston officials said it is required to stop and stay at the scene when involved in a crash. Failure to stop can result in a 2 to 20 year sentence.
Officials said they are asking for the public's help in continuing to provide tips to Crime Stoppers to in an effort to decrease the growing number of unsolved hit-and-run crashes in Houston.