The woman suspected of fatally colliding with an 18-year-old kayaker on Grapevine Lake Sunday is now in custody, authorities confirmed late Tuesday afternoon.
Grapevine police and the Texas Game Wardens confirmed the arrest Tuesday of Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez in connection with the death of Air Force Academy cadet Ava Renee Moore.
“We are thankful for the help of fellow law enforcement officers from the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Dallas Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations,” Grapevine police said Tuesday.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by NBC 5, Gonzalez Gonzalez is charged with 2nd-degree felony manslaughter, reckless operation and excessive speed, and leaving the scene of an accident involving death. While a bond has not been set, a bond of $500,000 was recommended in the affidavit. It’s unclear if Gonzalez has obtained an attorney to speak on her behalf.
NBC 5 News
NBC 5 News
Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez, pictured, was arrested Tuesday in connection with a fatal hit-and-run on Grapevine Lake on Sunday, May 25, 2025.
Witnesses cited in the arresting document told police Gonzalez Gonzalez was recklessly operating a personal watercraft (PWC) and made several passes along the shoreline with “wanton disregard to the safety of others and at a speed and manner that endangered others in the area before eventually colliding with one of two kayakers paddling near the shoreline.”
According to the affidavit, a woman was kayaking with Moore when the collision occurred. She told police they were leaving the area because of how the woman was operating the PWC when Moore was hit from behind. The woman kayaking with Moore said she turned to see the PWC strike Moore, and after the collision, the woman on the PWC saw Moore was injured and immediately left the area.
Other witnesses also told police that immediately after the collision, the occupants riding the PWC left the scene. They told police the PWC operator later returned, and that’s when bystanders attempted to prevent them from leaving.
Video shared with NBC 5 showed several people carrying Moore out of the water and trying to provide first aid. Despite the life-saving efforts of witnesses and first responders, according to the arrest warrant, Moore was pronounced dead at 5:59 p.m. while on the way to the hospital.
Witnesses recorded video and took photos of the man and woman. The Grapevine police shared those photos with the public on Monday, hoping to identify the woman and locate her. Witnesses told police the woman who was operating the PWC left the lake with a man who hit a vehicle while leaving the area.
US Air Force Academy Preparatory School
US Air Force Academy Preparatory School
Ava Moore, as a student athlete at the US Air Force Academy Preparatory School.
On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement saying his Fugitive Apprehension Unit helped track down and arrest Gonzalez Gonzalez and the man she is believed to have left the lake with.
A woman at a multi-family complex in Oak Cliff told NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 that the takedown occurred at about noon on Tuesday. The woman said Gonzalez Gonzalez did not initially want to come downstairs as police ordered. They had to coax her out, the woman said.
She also shared that several Venezuelan migrants live at the location, but claimed she did not know Gonzalez Gonzalez and had seen her for the first time on Monday night.
Deborah Warren lives across the street.
She said agents from multiple departments spent nearly an hour working to coax both a man and woman out of the home.
Daikerlyn Gonzalez is behind bars, charged with manslaughter after authorities say she hit and killed a kayaker at Grapevine Lake and fled the scene. Multiple bystanders tried to stop her and captured photos that led to her arrest.
“They were talking in Spanish. They were asking those people to come out of the house. They wouldn’t come out of the house. They kept telling them the house is surrounded. There’s no way you’re going to get out. Just come out,” said Warren.
The AG’s office also announced a second arrest, that of the male driver who allegedly hit a parked car as they fled from the lake. According to Paxton’s office, both Gonzalez Gonzalez and the unnamed man are unauthorized Venezuelan nationals. This will likely mean both will face an immigration hold once they are booked into jail.
“Ava Moore’s senseless death was caused by an illegal alien who should have never been in our country in the first place. My heart breaks for Ava’s family and friends, and my prayers are with them as they face this tragedy,” said Paxton. “My office will continue to work with local, state, and national law enforcement partners to secure justice for Ava.”
Paxton said the Fugitive Apprehension Unit worked with the Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Grapevine Police Department, the Dallas Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to make the arrests.
