Driver says he hit an animal, but White Settlement police found a dead body in his car
Published: Mon, 12/18/23
Driver says he hit an animal, but White Settlement police found a dead body in his car
Police think the impact from the crash was severe enough to throw the pedestrian into the vehicle.
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A man was detained Saturday night after police say he apparently hit a pedestrian then drove to a restaurant parking lot in White Settlement with the dead pedestrian in his passenger seat.
(Matt Rourke / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The Dallas Morning News
By Sarah Bahari
2:33 PM on December 17, 2023 CST
A man was detained Saturday night after police say he apparently fatally struck a pedestrian, then drove to a restaurant parking lot in White Settlement with the dead body in his passenger seat.
Police responded to the parking lot, in the 8700 block of I-30 service road, shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday when someone reported a vehicle with extensive damage and the driver slumped over the steering wheel, White Settlement police said in a news release.
Upon arriving, the officer found an unmoving human body in the front passenger seat, requested the driver exit vehicle and called emergency fire and medical personnel, who determined the passenger was dead.
The driver, identified as 31-year-old Nestor Joel Lujan Flores, told officers he thought he hit an animal in Dallas then continued driving to this parking lot. White Settlement police notified several area law enforcement agencies to piece together what happened.
On Sunday, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office notified White Settlement of crash on the westbound service road of I-30 near Cockrell Hill Road. Human remains were found near the roadway, and authorities will determine whether they match those of the body found in the car.
Detectives believe the impact from the crash was severe enough to throw the pedestrian into the vehicle, a gray Kia Forte, according to the news release. Police say it appears Flores then continued driving for 38 miles to White Settlement.
Flores is in custody of White Settlement police, with criminal charges pending review by the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Medical examiners from Dallas and Tarrant counties will work together to identify the passenger and cause of death, following notification of family.
Results of a blood test given to Flores are pending, the news release said. White Settlement police seized the vehicle and are turning it over to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office.
Flores was previously arrested in 2020 by the Plano Police Department for Driving While Intoxicated and convicted in 2021 in Collin County for the same charge, according to White Settlement police said.