SAN ANTONIO, TX – Flowers, a candle and a homemade cross now occupy a space on Wurzbach Road not far from where Jesus Ortega, 8, was hit by a car and killed on Christmas night.
San Antonio police said they found the child in the 9000 block of Wurzbach after answering a call about the crash around 7 p.m. Sunday.
Officers at the scene said Ortega was attempting to cross in the middle of the busy street when car headed east hit him, killing him.
The driver, who stopped after the crash, is not expected to face any charges. Police said Ortega was not in a crosswalk at the time.
"It doesn't surprise me but I think that was very sad, though, for the little boy to get killed," said Seanna Laymond, who lives in a nearby apartment complex. "A lot of people try to beat the cars and that's how these accidents happen."
Laymond said she often sees children running across the busy Northwest Side road.
Hours after that behavior ended in death Sunday night though, she, herself, attempted to do the same thing. On her way to a bus stop across from her home Monday morning, Laymond crossed in the middle of Wurzbach, only steps away from the area where Ortega lost his life.
“I look,” she said. “But, yeah, Wurzbach is very busy and (people) just need to look both ways."
Police, meanwhile, encourage pedestrians to use crosswalks at all times.