Investigators say the suspect seized a woman’s vehicle, then slammed into another car blocks away and killed Jose Avila.
DALLAS, Texas — What started as a brief roadside encounter in Old East Dallas ended in a deadly crash Thursday, and police said the man accused of taking a woman’s SUV by force now faces murder and robbery charges.
Dallas police identified the suspect as Tyrell Jones, 25, and said the chain of events unfolded over only a few blocks in the area around North Collett Avenue. The death of pedestrian Jose Avila turned the case into more than a robbery investigation, placing focus on how quickly the alleged carjacking escalated and on what prosecutors will argue happened between the first confrontation and the fatal collision.
Investigators said Jones was in the street near North Collett Avenue and Live Oak Street before 5:30 p.m. Thursday when a woman driving a purple Kia Sorrento stopped after seeing him appear to fall or lie in the roadway. According to the arrest affidavit described in local reports, Jones tried several times to get into the vehicle. The driver at first stepped out to check on him, then tried to leave when he rushed toward her again. Police said he jumped through a window, pushed her out and drove off. A witness, Gina Carpio, said the woman cried out for help and leaned on the horn during the struggle. Carpio said the SUV took off so wildly that bystanders feared someone would be hit.
Police said that fear became reality moments later. In the 1200 block of North Collett Avenue, near Swiss Avenue, the stolen SUV hit another vehicle that had been stopped at a sign. Investigators said the impact drove both vehicles through the intersection and onto the sidewalk. Avila, who was walking nearby, was pinned between the wreckage and a tree. Emergency crews took him to a hospital, where he later died. Jones also was hospitalized with injuries before being booked into jail. The driver of the struck vehicle was taken for treatment as well. Authorities had not released a detailed condition update on the surviving drivers in the latest public accounts.
The known facts of the case come largely from Dallas police and from the arrest affidavit released Friday. That document, as quoted in television coverage, said witnesses believed Jones appeared intoxicated on unknown drugs before the alleged carjacking. Still, police have not publicly reported test results, and no public filing reviewed in local coverage suggested additional charges tied to intoxication as of Friday night. That leaves several important questions unanswered, including whether prosecutors will argue impairment played a role, whether defense attorneys will challenge witness descriptions, and how much surveillance video investigators collected from nearby homes or businesses. NBC 5 reported video showed Jones running through the street around 5:20 p.m., then stumbling before the encounter with the driver.
For neighbors, the geography of the event made the violence feel especially close. The carjacking and the fatal crash happened within the same small Old East Dallas area, linking two intersections that residents use every day. By the next day, the crash site still carried signs of a rushed emergency response and of a life-ending impact on a neighborhood sidewalk. The randomness of Avila’s death deepened the shock. He was not accused of any role in the theft and, by police accounts, was simply in the wrong place when the two vehicles were pushed off the street. That detail has become central to how the case is being understood publicly: a brief robbery allegation that spiraled into a homicide with an uninvolved pedestrian as the victim.
Jones was booked into the Dallas County Jail on murder and robbery charges, and reports said no bond had been set by Friday. Publicly available coverage did not identify a first hearing date, but the next formal step will likely be Jones’ initial appearance in court and the continued review of probable cause materials by prosecutors. The murder charge suggests prosecutors believe the death falls within Texas homicide law tied to the alleged conduct surrounding the crash, though the final theory of the case will be shaped by future filings. Investigators also may continue interviewing witnesses from both intersections, reviewing vehicle damage, and examining any street or doorbell video that could clarify the suspect’s movements before and after he got into the Kia.
Neighbors who watched the episode unfold described a frantic scene, not a long chase. One witness said the struggle at the SUV was immediate and loud, with the woman trying to escape and call attention to what was happening. Another resident near the crash site spoke emotionally about the loss after learning a pedestrian had been killed. Their accounts gave the case the feel of a tragedy that arrived before anyone had time to understand it. In one part of the neighborhood, a driver stopped out of concern. In another, a man walking on the sidewalk was caught in the aftermath. Police have not said whether Jones made any statement after the crash.
As of Saturday, the case remained at an early stage, with Jones jailed, Avila identified as the man killed, and investigators still relying on witness accounts, video and the affidavit to map the final minutes before the crash. The next major development is expected to come through Dallas County court proceedings.
Author note: Last updated April 18, 2026.