A 52-year-old man was hospitalized with serious injuries Tuesday morning after a vehicle struck him while he was changing a flat tire on the shoulder of southbound Interstate 37 in Atascosa County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The crash happened around 9 am near mile marker 102, and the vehicle that hit him did not stop.
Driver Fled After Striking Stranded Motorist
DPS dash camera footage shows the vehicle involved may be a newer-model white Dodge utility van with damage to its passenger-side mirror, as reported by KSAT. The man had pulled over to change a tire on the highway shoulder when the passing vehicle hit him, per Eric Kaiser. The crash forced an hours-long closure of I-37 before the highway reopened.
Troopers are asking anyone with information to call DPS at 210-531-2280, and the station's report notes the investigation remains ongoing. No arrests have been announced, and the driver's identity has not been released.
A Familiar and Deadly Hazard on Texas Shoulders
Under Texas Transportation Code § 545.157, drivers approaching specified roadside vehicles with activated overhead lights must move over or slow down; on roads posted at 25 mph or less, they must slow by 5 mph, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. A first offense can carry a fine of up to $1,250; drivers who cause serious injuries may face jail time and a fine of up to $4,000.
If the driver who struck the man on I-37 is identified, they could face far steeper consequences. Leaving the scene of a crash that causes serious bodily injury is a third-degree felony under Texas law, according to FindLaw.
Not the First Roadside Tragedy on This Stretch
This is not the first time a driver has fled after striking someone along this same stretch of I-37. In September 2022, DPS troopers arrested a 32-year-old semi-truck driver who had fled a fatal early-morning hit-and-run near mile marker 118 in Atascosa County that killed a female pedestrian, according to MySA. In that case, troopers located the commercial vehicle later the same day after identifying missing passenger-side mirror debris, a detail that echoes the mirror damage investigators are now tracking in this latest crash.
Roadside dangers for stranded motorists extend well beyond this one corridor. Just three weeks earlier, a 36-year-old New Braunfels man was struck and killed while changing a flat tire on the shoulder of State Highway 172 by a driver who also fled the scene, as Hoodline previously reported. Drivers changing tires are often positioned just inches from active traffic lanes, leaving little margin for error when a passing vehicle drifts or fails to yield.
Pedestrians Face Outsized Risk Statewide
Texas Department of Transportation figures show pedestrian-related crashes make up only about 1 percent of all traffic collisions statewide, yet pedestrian fatalities account for roughly 19 percent of all roadway deaths, with 772 pedestrian deaths recorded in 2024.
State highway crash investigations on this stretch of I-37 are handled by DPS Highway Patrol troopers assigned to the Jourdanton office, who work alongside local sheriff's deputies to review dashcam footage and gather physical evidence, according to the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office is in Jourdanton. The victim's current condition, whether nearby frontage road cameras captured the fleeing van, and whether investigators have received tips matching the mirror damage remain open questions as the search for the driver continues.
