A 36-year-old New Braunfels man was struck and killed while changing a tire on a travel trailer along the shoulder of State Highway 172 near La Ward, and the driver who hit him never stopped. Benjamin Lee Faulk was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:56 p.m. on Monday, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Faulk was working on the travel trailer's tire when a passing vehicle struck him, DPS said, according to a report from Crossroads Today. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers are now investigating the fatal hit-and-run crash in Jackson County, and investigators are working to identify the vehicle involved. DPS Sergeant Ruben San Miguel confirmed the crash occurred on September 7, 2026, while Faulk was changing the tire, according to local reporting by Jackson County Homegrown News.
Two Vehicles Seen Near the Scene, Then Gone
Troopers say two vehicles were seen pulling onto the northbound shoulder about 100 yards from the crash scene shortly after it happened, per the same account from Crossroads Today. Both vehicles then left the area, and their connection to the crash, if any, remains unclear. DPS is asking anyone who may have been near La Ward or traveling on State Highway 172 around the time of the crash to come forward.
Witnesses and anyone with information have been urged to contact the Texas Department of Public Safety. The station's report does not specify whether the two vehicles that pulled over were connected to the crash or simply passersby who stopped and then continued on.
Felony Penalties Await the Fleeing Driver
If DPS identifies and apprehends the driver who struck Faulk, that person would face serious criminal exposure. Under Texas Transportation Code § 550.021, leaving the scene of a crash that results in death is a second-degree felony, punishable by two to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to FindLaw.
A Rural Highway Danger Playing Out Statewide
Faulk's death fits a pattern that has drawn increasing attention from Texas lawmakers and safety researchers. NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System data cited in state legislative analysis shows Texas recorded the highest number of traffic fatalities in the nation in 2021 tied to vehicles stopped on road shoulders, according to the Texas Legislature. Proposed House Bill 3726 would expand the state's Move Over protections to explicitly cover disabled civilian vehicles displaying hazard lamps or warning devices, since current Move Over statutes focus largely on emergency and maintenance vehicles rather than stranded motorists like Faulk.
Rural roads carry an outsized share of the state's death toll. Rural traffic crashes accounted for 2,080 fatalities in Texas in 2024, more than half of the state's total motor vehicle traffic deaths, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Pedestrians and roadside users made up a substantial part of that count too: 768 pedestrians were killed on Texas roadways in 2024, representing nearly 19% of all traffic fatalities statewide, per TxDOT figures.
Research from AAA Texas has found that roughly one in five traffic accidents happens on a roadside shoulder, while 23% of surveyed Texas drivers said they were unaware of the state's Move Over laws. Under Texas Transportation Code § 545.157, drivers approaching stopped emergency or maintenance vehicles with active warning lights are required to move over a lane or slow to 20 mph below the posted speed limit, facing fines of up to $2,000 for failing to comply.
A Small Jackson County Community
La Ward is a tiny incorporated city in southern Jackson County covering just 0.81 square miles, with a population of 176 recorded in the 2020 U.S. Census. The community was founded in 1904 following construction of the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway and was named after rancher Lafayette Ward, historically serving as a regional cattle shipping hub, according to the Texas State Historical Association. State Highway 172 remains a key route through the small town today, the same stretch of road where Faulk lost his life while trying to fix a flat.
