A man accused of running over and killing a bicyclist last year is headed to state prison.
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office said Monday, Rolando Cruz pled guilty to a collision involving death and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison for the death of 49-year-old Daniel Frost.
Frost was riding his bicycle near Gateway Park, not far from East 1st and Beach streets, just before 6 a.m. on May 11, 2024, when he was killed in a hit-and-run. The driver, police said, left the crash scene without stopping.
According to an affidavit obtained by NBC 5, police were alerted to the crash after someone called 911 and reported a bicycle with flashing lights blocking a lane. As an officer arrived, he reported a MedStar EMS ambulance stopped with emergency lights on and a shoe in the roadway. The officer said paramedics directed him to the body of a bicyclist on the side of the road and handed him an ID card found in the man’s pocket.
Officials identified the man as Frost and said he had injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle and appeared to have been dragged.
According to the affidavit, while investigators were investigating the crash, a woman approached them and told them her son, 26-year-old Rolando Cruz, was the driver.
During an interview with police, Cruz admitted to being involved in a crash but said he “wasn’t sure if he hit a deer or a homeless person” and was unaware he had dragged a bicycle a couple of hundred feet. Police said in the affidavit that Cruz told them he took the vehicle to a friend’s house, covered it with a tarp and called his mother.
Cruz was later arrested and charged with Frost’s death.
Frost was a husband and father of five children and an avid cyclist who often rode at least 10 miles before meeting with other riders on Saturday mornings. The Tarrant County DA’s Office said Frost’s friends and family filled the courtroom during the sentencing hearing.