Hit-And-Run Victim Found Dead In Vehicle that Allegedly Struck Him

A man was detained by the local police after being found in a car with a deceased person suspected to be the victim of a hit-and-run.

A man was detained by the police in White Settlement, Texas, December 16 after being found in a car with a deceased person suspected to be the victim of a hit-and-run in Dallas earlier that evening, according to KENS5.

The White Settlement Police responded to a welfare check at a Jack in the Box parking lot following a call received at 11:13 p.m. about a driver slumped over the steering wheel of a Kia Forte. The car exhibited extensive front-end, hood, and windshield damage. Upon inspection, an officer discovered a human body in the front passenger seat next to the unconscious driver.

“As the officer shined his flashlight in the vehicle looking for alcoholic beverages that might be in plain view, stuff like that, he noticed what appeared to be a human body in the passenger side of the vehicle,” said White Settlement Police Chief Christopher Cook during a Sunday press conference.

Medics confirmed the passenger’s death. The driver, identified as 31-year-old Nestor Lujan Flores of Arlington, was then questioned by the police.

Lujan Flores claimed that he had struck a deer in Dallas and continued driving to the parking lot, approximately 40 miles away, without alerting first responders. Based on evidence, authorities believe the victim in the passenger seat was a pedestrian hit by the vehicle. The impact was so severe, officials said, that the individual was thrown inside the car and came to rest in the passenger seat.

“So, we believe that the driver struck a pedestrian somewhere in our region, and that impact forced the pedestrian inside the vehicle and ended up came to rest in the passenger seat,” Cook said. “Very unfortunate that he did not realize that this was a human being–to stop, render aid and call for help.”

White Settlement police, in collaboration with other jurisdictions, identified a crash site near Cockrell Hill Road in Dallas. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the incident, and officials believe the crash happened in Dallas, with human remains found near the scene.

“In all my 28 years [on the job], I have never really worked a case like this,” Cook said.

Lujan Flores is in custody at the White Settlement Jail on a pending charge of intoxication manslaughter and potentially failure to stop and render aid. The victim’s identity will be released by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office once the family has been notified.