Texas man allegedly fatally struck pedestrian and then drove with victim’s body for 38 miles
12/18/2023 2:41 pm PST
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (TCD) -- A 31-year-old man stands accused of fatally striking a pedestrian in Dallas and then driving around with the victim’s body in his car over the weekend.
According to a news release from the White Settlement Police Department, on Saturday, Dec. 16, at approximately 11:13 p.m., officers responded to a restaurant parking lot in the 8700 block of Interstate Highway 30 Service Road after a caller reported a vehicle with extensive damage. Police said the reporting party observed a driver who "appeared to be slumped over the steering wheel" as well.
At the scene, an officer noticed a "human body with no signs of life in the front passenger seat" of the gray Kia Forte. According to the statement, the officer told the driver, Nestor Joel Lujan Flores, to exit the car and brought him in for questioning.
Emergency personnel also responded to the parking lot and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.
During an interview, Flores reportedly told police he thought he struck an animal in Dallas. Police learned there had been a crash in Dallas on the westbound service road of Interstate 30 near Cockrell Hill Road. Investigators "believe the impact was so severe that the pedestrian was thrown inside the vehicle and came to rest on the passenger seat."
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office informed the White Settlement Police Department that they found human remains near the crash site that might match the victim’s body. The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office will work together to positively identify the remains.
After allegedly killing the victim, police believe Flores drove approximately 38 miles from the original crash scene in Dallas to White Settlement. Flores failed to seek help and did not report the fatal incident.
According to police, Flores reportedly arrived at the restaurant parking lot sometime between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Dec. 16.
The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case, and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office will assume the investigation.
Police seized the vehicle and will send all recovered evidence to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. Test results from a blood search are pending.
Flores remains held in the White Settlement Jail on a pending charge of intoxication manslaughter.
Plano Police previously arrested Flores in 2020 for driving while intoxicated, which he was convicted of in 2021.
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