HOUSTON — Police on Friday identified the driver accused of hitting and killing a pedestrian in north Houston earlier in the week.
Sergio Noe Palacios, 20, is charged with failure to stop and render aid in the 182nd State District Court, according to the Houston Police Department.
Officials said the victim, a 31-year-old man, was walking on Rittenhouse Street crossing Airline Drive around 7:25 p.m. Wednesday when he was hit by a blue GMC pickup truck.
Another driver who witnessed the incident said they were braking to yield to the pedestrian when the offending pickup driver swerved around and accelerated through the intersection, hitting the victim. The driver in the GMC kept going as the victim's body came to rest under another car that was stopped at the traffic light waiting to make a turn.
During the investigation, with the help of a witness, Houston police said they found the pickup driver's license plate just blocks from the scene. They used the plate to track down the driver, later identified as Palacios.
Police waited outside his home for Palacios to return, and that's when they moved in to arrest him.
A tow truck was brought in to take the pickup away as the investigation continued.
Officers said the victim killed in the hit-and-run had survived a shooting at the same intersection just a few weeks ago. As of Friday police had not released his name.
At the time of the incident, police at the scene said they were investigating the deadly crash as possibly related to street racing, but no other drivers have been arrested or charged in the case.
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