Man found dead in N. Harris Co. roadway appears to have died in hit-and-run crash, deputies say

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Deputies are investigating after a pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run crash while crossing a major road in north Harris County on Tuesday morning. Authorities believe his body was not discovered for hours.

Harris County sheriff's deputies responded to the 1000 block of West Mount Houston Road near the I-45 North Freeway shortly before 7 a.m. when a woman called and said she believed she struck a dead body in the roadway.

At the scene, deputies found an older Hispanic man dead in the inside eastbound lane of the roadway.

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Deputies said the woman stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators. The driver and her daughter were not injured.

Investigators believe another driver struck the man and left him in the roadway either earlier in the morning or on Monday night. That driver left without rendering aid, HCSO said.

"I will add that the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk," Lt. Simon Cheng said. "So I do want to urge pedestrians to make sure that they cross streets at a crosswalk, make sure they stay on a sidewalk when they are walking alongside roads, and make sure that if there are traffic signals present for pedestrians, to heed them. I also want to encourage drivers to make sure that they look for pedestrians when they are coming close to intersections, especially crosswalks, since pedestrians have the right of way at crosswalks. We also want to make sure that pedestrians know that state law says they are supposed to face vehicles when they're walking on the roadway, so that way they can see any hazards coming towards them and take proper reaction time to avoid a vehicle if needed."

Deputies were looking for surveillance video from nearby businesses to get a description of the wanted driver's vehicle.

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