Woman Killed During Hit-And-Run

HOUSTON - A woman was run down and killed in a southwest Houston shopping center parking lot, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Police said the man who hit her is also responsible for a crime spree throughout Houston.

Brenda Romano, 56, was shopping with her family at Meyerland Plaza according to police.

That's when she was hit and killed by a man who police said was responsible for a string of crimes that date back to Oct. 10.

Wrecker driver Nick Harris said he drove up to the disturbing scene and saw the victim on the ground with three people working to revive her.

"It could have been one of my parents," Harris said. "It could have been anyone who shops here."

Moments earlier, police said the hit and run driver, who was behind the wheel of a stolen silver Range Rover, backed into the victim's truck, causing minor damage.

Investigators said the victim, her daughter Robin Romano, 34, and the driver got into a heated argument.

Witnesses said that is when the unexpected happened.

"He didn't stop and he just kept going," witness Ida Belle Prothro said.

HPD homicide investigator Sgt. Robert Torres said "As he was backing out, he was moving the second vehicle while she was pinned in between them."

Investigators said the Romano suffered severe injuries to her upper body and was pronounced dead at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Police said the driver was caught on tape by parking lot surveillance cameras.

Sadly, witnesses said the Romano's two grandchildren were at the scene as well.

"It's just not right," Harris said. "There were kids in the car who probably witnessed the whole thing."

The driver and stolen silver Range Rover he was driving have been linked to six crimes in the past 30 days, according to investigators. They said that included a snatch and run theft at a store at Memorial City Mall. Police said that crime happened just hours before the fatal confrontation.

Harris said that makes this crime even more disturbing.

"If you did something wrong, don't kill someone else," he said. "Don't bring someone else down with you."

Police tracked the driver down early Sunday morning using tips from viewers who saw the story on the news.

The suspect has been identified as George Randel Theobald, 39.

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