Man uses child as shield in attempt to avoid arrest for deadly hit-and-run in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado Springs police say a child is recovering after a man suspected of hitting and killing someone early Tuesday morning tried to use the child as a shield from officers.

KRDO13 has obtained video of the deadly hit-and-run. The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) says they believe the child was in the car at the time. 

The incident happened just after midnight along South Circle Drive, near the intersection with Airport Road.

Shay Whatley lives nearby and says she woke up just after midnight after hearing a bang. She says she was scared her granddaughter might've fallen, but within minutes, she says the sound of sirens filled the air, and she realized something else must be going on. Her daughter told her there was an accident.

"I start looking for two cars. I don't see anything. And she goes, no, I think somebody got hit," recounted Whatley.

Whatley says police started to shut down the road, and she saw someone lying in the street. Her home's security cameras captured the moment police say 30-year-old Dominic Rodriguez sped down the road, hit and killed the man crossing the street, and drove off.

"He hit him and he clearly knew what he did. And the way he just left him there like that, it's awful," said Whatley.

CSPD said they found Rodriguez just a few blocks away on East Pikes Peak Avenue. Instead of surrendering, police say he used a small child as a shield from the officers. CSPD said they had to physically remove the child to arrest Rodriguez.

Whatley says if she's traumatized, she can only imagine what that child is going through.

"Why does he have a child that late at night? Imagine what that child saw," said Whatley. "My heart goes to the child."

Police say that the child is recovering after minor injuries. Rodriguez is now in the El Paso County Jail facing multiple charges for the deadly accident and trying to avoid his arrest. 

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