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Family mourns death of officer killed in head-on crash after driver is charged

Family members of look over the casket of Dallas Police Officer Jacob Arellano on Oct. 19, 2022.
Pablo Arauz Peña
/
KERA News
Family members and police officers from around Dallas look on at Officer Jacob Arellano's casket at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church.

Loved ones and fellow officers eulogized Dallas Police Officer Jacob Arellano at a memorial service on Wednesday.

Family, friends and colleagues gathered Wednesday to mourn the death of Jacob Arellano, the Dallas officer who police say was killed after a wrong-way drunk driver collided with his SUV last week.

The service, at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Richardson on a cool morning, came exactly one week after Arellano died in Methodist Hospital after the head-on collision in southwest Dallas.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia called Arellano a "presence" on the scene whenever he was working, and praised his work on the job.

"He would never shy away from running down DWI's, even if it kept him after shift," Garcia said. "He was fighting to take impaired drivers off our roads to save lives. He worked to prevent the very type of crash that he was involved in that took his life."

Officer Jacob Arellano
Courtesy Photo
Officer Jacob Arellano

Garcia said Arellano had a gift.

"His co-workers said you never had to worry when Jacob was on a call," Garcia said. "He took the time to listen, be respectful, solve problems [and] give guidance."

Arellano, 25, was driving to work just before midnight on Spur 408, going northbound near Kiest Boulevard, when police say 31-year-old Mayra Rebollar struck the officer's vehicle in the opposite direction.

He was pushed into the right lane where he was struck by an oncoming tractor trailer, rolled several times and stopped on the shoulder, police said.

He was rushed to Methodist in critical condition, and was later pronounced dead 9:40 a.m. Wednesday.

Rebollar, who was also hospitalized, was later arrested and charged with intoxicated manslaughter.

The funeral was held during Wednesday's Dallas City Council meeting, which recessed for more than two hours so the mayor and council members could attend.

Speaking directly to the officers, Mayor Eric Johnson thanked the officers for their service to the community.

"We wanted to be here to say thank you to your family, and to Jacob, because we understand what it is that we're asking of all of you," Johnson said.

Arellano's twin brother Joshua, who is also a Dallas police officer, said his brother was an honorable man.

"My brother was always self-committed and dedicated to everything he did in life, always with a big smile on his face," he said.

Arellano is survived by his fiancé Alyssa Rosales and their son Nolan Jacob Arellano.

Additional reporting by Paul DeBenedetto.

Got a tip? Email Pablo Arauz Peña at parauzpena@kera.org

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Pablo Arauz Peña is the Growth and Infrastructure Reporter for KERA News.