WHITE SETTLEMENT (WBAP/KLIF News ) – White Settlement police released new details about a gruesome hit-and-run crash involving an intoxicated man who drove around with the victim’s lifeless body in the car over the weekend.
Investigators believe 31-year-old Nestor Lujan Flores of Arlington initially hit the unidentified victim in Dallas Saturday night.
According to a press release, White Settlement police received a 911 call around 11:13 Saturday night about a driver slumped over the steering wheel of a Kia Forte while parked at a Jack in The Box in the 8700 block of West Freeway near I-30.
An officer found the car with “extensive front-end, hood and windshield” damage and a human body in the front passenger seat next to the passed out driver.
An arrest affidavit states that while officers searched the vehicle, they found what appeared to be two human legs around the accident. It also states the 911 caller said a man walked into the Jack in The Box covered in blood and asking for a phone charger.
The officer saw the body laying upside down in the passenger seat, with its head laying on the floorboard and both legs missing below the knees.
At a Sunday press conference, White Settlement Police Chief Chris Cook said 31-year old Flores told officers he thought he hit a deer in Dallas and continued to drive to the parking lot.
“It’s very unfortunate how this man that was driving could operate a vehicle like that and drive 40 miles with a human being in the vehicle thinking that somehow this was an animal,” he said.
After seeing the horrific carnage, Chief Cook said the officer had Flores step out of the vehicle for questioning.
According to a blood search warrant, Flores had slurred speech and red, water eyes with drooping eyelids at the scene. Flores allegedly told officers he was waiting for his brother to give him a ride.
Medics were called to the scene and it was determined the victim was dead. He’s only been identified as 45 years old and police believe he may have been homeless.
The department notified the Dallas Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, Grand Prairie Police Department, Arlington Police Department, and the Fort Worth Police Department to identify a possible location where this incident occurred.
A Flock Safety Alert was recovered at the eastbound lanes of the 1900 block of E. Mayfield at New York Avenue at 6:01 p.m. placing the vehicle in Arlington prior to this case investigation.
Chief Cook said the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office believes the initial impact may have happened along I-30 near Cockrell Hill Road.
“They located some possible body parts in the roadway there. Based on that information, we believe they could be connected,” he said.
Police said Flores never alerted first responders about the incident.
Flores is facing an intoxication manslaughter charge and possibly failure to render aid.
“This scene was very hard for our teams, just to even work a case like this. Really, what the frustration of our team is, is these are avoidable. People do not need to get behind the wheel. We talk about it all the time. Make good decisions. There’s rideshare services, friends. There’s just other things you can do besides getting behind the wheel,” said Chief Cook. “In all my 28 years, I have never really worked a case like this.”
The victim’s identity will be released by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office once next of kin have been notified.
The tragic incident coincides with a press conference held by authorities in Tarrant County on Monday to discuss plans to step up DWI enforcement over the holidays.
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, District Attorney Phil Sorrels, Texas DPS Safety Director Jeremy Sherrod and other local police chiefs were in attendance.
DA Sorrels noted that there have been about 5000 DWI arrests in Tarrant County this year.
Sheriff Bill Waybourn said DWI enforcement can be a challenge.
“It does wear on officers. It is tragic. It is gruesome….and as DA Sorrells said when you go home at the end of the day…it’s completely preventable,” he said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 37 people die in this country each day due to a DWI accident.
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