SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police continue to look for the driver of an 18-wheeler that was involved in a fatal hit-and run-crash on the far Northwest Side.
Woman killed following hit-and-run crash with 18-wheeler on Interstate 10, San Antonio police say
Police said the big rig rear-ended a compact Ford as it drove along Interstate 10 near Dominion Road shortly after 5:30 a.m. Friday.
A 40-year-old woman, the driver of the car, was killed in the crash. Police said she was not wearing a seat belt.
“I live right back here and I heard some crashes as I was coming out of my garage,” said Scott Marroquin, who was out for his morning bike ride.
Marroquin ending up riding toward the crash scene and quickly called 911.
“Cars were just speeding by like nothing was happening,” he said. “You could hear everyone was running over. I’m assuming there’s a bunch of broken glass and metal up there.”
Officers who arrived at the scene quickly labeled the crash as a crime.
They began conducting a search for the 18-wheeler which was bound to have front-end damage.
A few hours later, they received a call about a suspicious big rig parked downtown near Crockett and Bowie streets.
“You can see extensive damage on this 18-wheeler and still, pieces of the victim’s car are caught under the rear wheel,” said Officer Douglas Greene of the San Antonio Police Department.
Greene said officers also found a man with the truck and detained him.
However, the man denied being the driver, telling police another man who was behind the wheel ran off shortly after parking the truck downtown.
The man told police he was a passenger in the truck and that he was asleep at the time of the crash.
“(He) didn’t think much of it, maybe that they nudged something,” Greene said.
Police, however, believe whoever was driving the truck had to know he was dragging something beneath it.
They said the big rig continued on for about 20 miles with the car parts attached.
Greene said investigators plan to review surveillance video from nearby businesses and VIA buses to determine if the man’s story about the driver adds up.
In the meantime, they released a description of the person who was behind the wheel.
Police are looking for a man who is about 6 feet 3 inches tall with short dreadlocks. They said he was last seen wearing a burgundy shirt and gray slacks.
Anyone with information is asked to call SAPD’s Traffic Investigations Division at 210-207-7385.