Truck driver helps man hit by car after he attempted to cross North Freeway
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man was hit this morning while trying to walk across the North Freeway.
The freeway is now moving but the tragic accident could have been much worse had it not been for a truck driver's quick actions.
All the southbound lanes of I-45 were shut down just before 6am. Authorities say Michael Lott was running across the interstate when he was hit by a car.
Tractor trailer driver David Skinner explained, "I was going to go on, but I saw the guy was still breathing."
The driver of the White Hyundai Sonata that hit Lott stopped at the scene.
Skinner was several car lengths behind the vehicle that hit a man walking across the southbound lanes of traffic on Interstate 45. Instead of driving away, Skinner tried to help.
Skinner said, "So I stopped, called 911. While I was on the phone with them they asked me if I could perform CPR, he was still breathing at that time, and by the time I went down to roll him over, because he was on his stomach, he had stopped breathing."
Harris County Deputies say the driver who hit the pedestrian did not know someone was walking on the roadway and had very little time to react.
Harris County Sheriff's Office Deputy C.J. Meaux said, "The driver said that he did see him until he was right in his lane, he swerved to the right and actually did not him in the front, looks like the guy actually ran into the car because he hit right at the front fender."
Deputies say the victim had no identification and despite their best efforts, the pedestrian was in very serious condition when LifeFlight took off for an area hospital. Lott died of his injuries.
The drivers who tried to help the victim were still in shock hours after the accident.
Skinner, "They shouldn't be on the highway, they uh, I'm sorry, I just..."
Deputies say they do not know why the man was trying to cross the road. An underpass just down the road would have provided a much safer place for him to cross. Deputies say they routinely get calls about people walking across busy highway lanes.
The freeway reopened to all traffic around 8:30am this morning.
