HOUSTON — Houston police are looking to figure out what led to a young man's death in southwest Houston early Wednesday morning.
They were called after midnight about a disturbance at a Burger King on West Sam Houston Parkway South.
A homeless couple walked up to the drive-thru to try and order food. The employees couldn't take walk-up orders, so they refused to serve the couple.
According to a HPD sergeant, a Burger King manager was leaving in his vehicle for a break and went through the drive-thru. That's when his vehicle made contact with the man.
The victim was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. He hasn't been identified, but investigators said he was 26 years old.
Sgt. David Rose said the his family has been notified of his death.
HPD has been talking to the Burger King manager and the man's girlfriend to figure out what caused his death and whether the crash was intentional.
The 20-year-old employee remained at the scene and was later released.
Before it happened, there was an argument between the couple and the employees.
Originally, the sergeant at the scene said the man was seen on video pulling out a knife at one point. Investigators now say the he got the knife from an employee when he asked for scissors.
Allegedly, the victim got upset and repeatedly stabbed the Plexiglass of the drive-thru window. He then stopped and started collecting change from the drive-thru area with his girlfriend.
Sgt. Rose said there was a short time between the argument and the crash. The reports police are getting have been contradicting each other and the video of the accident doesn't have audio. So they can't confirm what really happened and if the crash was intentional.
According to police, the employee that the couple argued with was the same manager that crashed into the man later.
Police are also questioning whether the crash caused the man's death. Rose said the car didn't get a lot of damage and the victim didn't have many external injuries.
Investigators now believe the victim might've suffered a medical issue that contributed to his death. According to HPD, the investigation suggests that the man ran in front the employee's vehicle as it passed.
Note: The video below is from previous reporting.
