Man sleeping at underpass killed by hit-and-run driver in southwest Houston, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A homeless man was killed by a hit-and-run driver in southwest Houston overnight, and police are asking for the public’s help in finding the person they believe did it.

The deadly crash happened in the 9900 block of South Main at I-610 South Loop West just before 1 a.m. Monday.

Now, investigators are searching for a red or maroon pickup truck that they say should have a lot of front-end damage.

Houston police said a SUV was stopped at the light at the intersection of South Main and the Loop.

Investigators believe the hit-and-run suspect rear-ended the SUV at the intersection then backed up, jumping the curb at the underpass where the homeless man was asleep in a sleeping bag.

Police said the driver kept going after running over the man, hitting a tree and a pillar along the way.

The man who was hit was taken to the hospital, where he later died, HPD said.

Unfortunately, police said witnesses had varying statements, so they don’t know what the exact make or model of the truck is.

Investigators were looking for video in the area to help clear up the uncertainty about the wanted suspect.

“It looks like he was in the process of moving. There was some beds, some furniture, a lamp that fell out of the bad of the pickup truck,” Sgt. David Rose said. “But in the meantime, if anybody knows of a vehicle involved in a crash around this time — it’s going to have a lot of front-end damage, headlights broken, a lot of the trim is missing, and there’s going to be some paint transfer.”

The SUV the driver rear-ended is white, so the paint transfer on the suspect’s vehicle should be white.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact HPD or Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.