![\"Emma](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MKJCH5TRDRBTPPC4ATBQPJYVME.png\")
<\/p>\nEmma Hackney had a lot to be thankful for this past Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old grew up in a close-knit, supportive family in the upscale Preston Hollow area of Dallas, had loads of dear friends and was in a long-term relationship with a man she planned to eventually marry. She also had a rescue dog she adored and a job she loved, working as an attorney for a large law firm in Dallas.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was so funny, so vivacious,\u201d Hackney\u2019s mother, Dr. Gail Hackney, said as she gathered with family Wednesday at her home. \u201cA true original,\u201d added Hackney\u2019s brother-in-law Ian Pinholster. <\/p>\n
Hackney\u2019s life tragically came to an end the Sunday after Thanksgiving in a car crash in the Turtle Creek area of Dallas. Police said it was caused by a speeding and intoxicated driver. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Emma Hackney, 29, died Sunday evening in a car crash in the Turtle Creek area of Dallas. Dr. Gail Hackney, her mother, remembered her daughter as funny and vivacious.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of the Hackney family<\/p>\n
Preston Petty, 26, was arrested and charged with intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle and intoxicated assault with a vehicle. He was booked into the Dallas County jail after his bond was set at $650,000.<\/p>\n
Crime in The News<\/p>\n
By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n Online records show Petty is a graduate of Highland Park High School and played on the golf team. His LinkedIn profile indicates he was hired in June as an assistant golf pro at the Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin, but a staff member said Thursday that he\u2019s no longer employed there.<\/p>\n Online Travis County court records indicate Petty was free on bond in two pending criminal cases there when Sunday\u2019s crash occurred. The first happened Aug. 24, when Petty was charged with behaving recklessly with a firearm and released on a $7,500 bond. Less than two months later, on Oct. 18, Austin police charged him with possessing meth. His bond in that case was set at $5,000.<\/p>\n Dallas attorney Peter Barrett, the lawyer listed as representing Petty in the Travis County cases, confirmed Thursday that he\u2019s representing him in the Dallas County case. Barrett declined to provide any further information.<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s crash occurred shortly before 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Turtle Creek Boulevard and Gillespie Street, according to police.<\/p>\n Hackney and her boyfriend, Franklin Fotopoulos, had just taken their dog, Rocco, to a park in the Turtle Creek area and were about to get into Hackney\u2019s 2017 Porsche Macan when Fotopoulos said he saw a black Tesla sedan hurtling toward them. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was speeding at more than 100 miles per hour,\u201d Fotopoulos said. \u201cI yelled and waved my arms, trying to get it to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n A short time later, Hackney and Fotopoulos were sitting in her car, waiting at a red light on Turtle Creek Boulevard, when the speeding Tesla appeared again.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw it for probably less than a second and then \u2026 it was just there,\u201d Fotopoulos said as he grew emotional. \u201cIt all happened so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Emma Hackney is pictured with her boyfriend, Franklin Fotopoulos, at her sister Maggie’s wedding in 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.<\/p>\n Courtesy of the Hackney family<\/p>\n The Tesla slammed into a couple of trees, snapping them at their base, and took down a crosswalk sign before hurtling into the eastbound lanes of Turtle Creek Boulevard, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed by police. There, it struck a curb in the median, went airborne and crashed into Hackney\u2019s car. After knocking Hackney\u2019s car onto its side, the Tesla landed on top of it.<\/p>\n Lyft driver Jason Keeling was driving north on Cedar Springs Road with a passenger in his vehicle when he first saw the speeding car.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I\u2019m going through the intersection, I see the Tesla coming around the curve,\u201d Keeling said. \u201cHe was clearly driving way too fast. At that point, I said, \u2018Holy (expletive). Did you see that?\u2019 to my rider, but she was looking at her phone and didn\u2019t see anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Keeling said he heard the impact of the crash, but didn\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n \u201cI told my rider, \u2018I\u2019m very sorry, but I have to stop,\u2019 \u201d he said. The woman understood, he said, and decided to walk to her destination, which was just about a block away.<\/p>\n Keeling and another man hurried over to the crash site to see if they could help. Two women joined them, with one saying she was a nurse, Keeling said. <\/p>\n Fotopoulos, who had suffered multiple cuts on his forehead, emerged from the vehicle covered in blood, Keeling said. He and the other man who had arrived on the scene got Hackney out, Keeling said. Fotopoulos then began looking for their dog, a blue American Staffordshire Terrier, but was unable to find him. The bloodied dog, which had been ejected from the car and suffered multiple cuts, somehow found his way back to the couple\u2019s apartment, which Fotopoulos said was about a 45-minute walk from there. <\/p>\n Emma Hackney is pictured with her adopted dog, Rocco. Hackney died Nov. 30 in a car crash in the Turtle Creek area of Dallas. Rocco was injured in the crash and was able to find his way home \u2014 about a 45-minute walk \u2014 alone.<\/p>\n Courtesy of the Hackney family<\/p>\n The Tesla had so many airbags that had deployed, Keeling said he couldn\u2019t see inside. <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t think there was any chance that anyone in there had survived,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n First responders had to cut one of the Tesla\u2019s doors to get the passengers out, according to the arrest affidavit. In addition to Petty, his mother, Jennifer Petty, was in the car. She suffered a fractured spine, broken nose and a possibly fractured heel.<\/p>\n At the scene, Preston Petty initially denied being the driver, but then conceded it was him, the affidavit said. The 2025 Tesla Model 3 he was driving is owned by his mother, according to police. When asked what happened, Petty said he was driving with his phone in his hand, and his mother was trying to grab it from him, the affidavit said. He denied drinking or taking drugs that day, but the affidavit said he failed field sobriety tests and officers smelled alcohol on him.<\/p>\n Petty was informed he was being detained after he told officers he was leaving. He didn\u2019t realize he\u2019d hit another vehicle until police told him, the affidavit said, at which point he asked if the other driver was OK. <\/p>\n Petty declined medical treatment but was taken to a hospital anyway. Police had to obtain a search warrant to get a sample of his blood drawn for testing after he refused to voluntarily provide it, the document said.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Hackney\u2019s family shared memories of her as they gathered in the living room of her mother\u2019s home. The family had already suffered a devastating loss three years ago, when Hackney\u2019s beloved father, Dr. Fred Hackney, died after a long illness.<\/p>\n Emma Hackney is pictured with her father, Fred Hackney. He died in 2022 after a long illness. Hackney died Nov. 30 in a car crash in the Turtle Creek area of Dallas.<\/p>\n Courtesy of the Hackney family\\<\/p>\n \ufeff\u201dShe was so kind, goofy and funny,\u201d said Hackney\u2019s sister, Maggie Pinholster. \u201cShe loved her friends and family fiercely, and she was the best little sister. We had so much fun together, and I laughed my hardest with her. I was always jealous of her ability to be so uniquely herself.\u201d<\/p>\n Hackney and Fotopoulos both attended The Episcopal School of Dallas, where they met in the fifth grade. Hackney later earned a degree in marketing and communications from the University of South Carolina and worked at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas for several months before deciding to pursue a law degree.<\/p>\n \u201cShe studied very, very hard for the LSAT and did really well,\u201d her mother said. <\/p>\n Emma Hackney, far right, is pictured with her family, from left, sister Maggie Pinholster, mother Gail Hackney and father Fred Hackney during a family trip to Florence, Italy in 2013.<\/p>\n Courtesy of the Hackney family<\/p>\n Hackney was awarded a dean\u2019s scholarship from Southern Methodist University\u2019s Dedman School of Law and graduated in 2023. She began working for Jackson Walker LLP\u2019s finance and banking division afterwards.<\/p>\n About a year and a half ago, Hackney adopted her beloved Rocco after seeing a post on Instagram that indicated he was going to be euthanized soon if he wasn\u2019t adopted. The next big joy in her life arrived eight months ago, when her niece Lizzie was born.<\/p>\n \u201cShe really loved being an aunt,\u201d Hackney\u2019s sister Maggie said. <\/p>\n Funeral services for Hackney will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday at St. Michael\u2019s Episcopal Church in Dallas. The family is expecting a big turnout.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was so loved,\u201d Fotopoulos said. \u201cHer loss has caused a hole in so many hearts that will never be filled\u201d added her sister, Maggie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Emma Hackney had a lot to be thankful for this past Thanksgiving. 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