A 40-year-old man has been arrested on a murder complain in connection with two hit-and-run crashes that investigators believe targeted homeless people.
Jeremy Thacker was arrested Tuesday on complaints of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, police have said.
Thacker hasn’t yet spoken to detectives, police spokeswoman Jeanne MacKenzie explained, but damage on his truck is consistent with both crashes.
It was not immediately clear if Thacker had an attorney.
Jeremy Thacker, pictured, was arrested Tuesday on complaints of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, police have said
Though Thacker hasn’t yet given his statement to police, the damage on his truck (pictured) was consistent with the two crashes
Police first recovered a white pickup truck near a rock quarry in north Tulsa that detectives linked to the attacks.
Thacker was arrested nearby a short time later.
The first crash occurred Monday morning under an interstate overpass and appeared to be a deliberate attack, Tulsa Police Sgt Stephen Florea told the Tulsa World.
‘The pickup truck actually circled the block a couple of times before coming back, driving up over the curb and driving down the sidewalk to run over these individuals,’ Florea said.
‘There’s just no way this could have been an accident.’
He said the vehicular assault killed 46-year-old Shawn Birdo and hospitalized 49-year-old Cynthia Wallace, who suffered severe injuries.
One of the fictims, Shawn Birdo, 46, was described by friends and family as a man who was temporarily homeless because he was between jobs
Police believe Thacker, pictured, was targeting homeless people in the attack, and Tulsa Police Sgt Stephen Florea said there is no way it was an accident
Both victims were sleeping at the time of the attack.
James Russell was also hit and suffered a minor leg injury.
Hours later, another homeless woman was hospitalized after her legs were run over in a separate crash. All of the victims are believed to be homeless.
Florea said evidence suggests that the driver swerved to hit the woman, who was sitting on a curb.
‘The pickup truck (pictured) actually circled the block a couple of times before coming back, driving up over the curb and driving down the sidewalk to run over these individuals,’ Sgt Stephen Florea Florea said
Witnesses described the driver as a white man in his 40s.
Russell said he considers himself lucky for not being more severely injured, and that many homeless people sleep on the streets because they have nowhere else to go.
‘I was very lucky today, and I’m very sorry that the people who were hit were hurt so bad and one lost his life,’ Russell said.
‘What the man did was terribly wrong, and I hope he’s caught.’
The victim who was killed, Shawn Birdo, was described on a GoFundMe page as a man who was only temporarily homeless because he was in between jobs. His friends are raising money for his funeral expenses.