A man was found dead along northbound Interstate 37 just north of Loop 1604 in Elmendorf on Thursday, apparently after being struck by a vehicle overnight. A tow truck driver spotted what looked like a body in the grass alongside the highway shortly after 8:30 a.m., setting off an investigation into a suspected hit-and-run that has so far turned up more questions than answers.
Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene after officers arrived and found him lying in the grass on the right side of the highway, according to KABB. Police believe the man had been crossing the highway from east to west when he was hit, as reported by News 4 San Antonio. Investigators believe the crash happened sometime between 10 p.m. Wednesday and midnight, placing the hours-long gap between the collision and the discovery of his body the following morning.
Victim Still Unidentified as Investigators Search for Answers
The man had not been identified as of Thursday, and investigators estimate he was between his late 20s and late 30s, the station's report states. Investigators have not identified the vehicle involved or determined whether the driver stopped after the crash, according to KSAT. That leaves open whether whoever was behind the wheel even realized a person had been struck on the dark highway.
Police are reviewing surveillance footage in hopes of piecing together what happened, but darkness and shadows have made it difficult to clearly see what occurred, per the same KABB report. The stretch of highway near the Loop 1604 onramp is poorly lit at night, and with no vehicle description or clear picture of the moment of impact, investigators are left working backward from a scene that offers few obvious clues.
Not the First Deadly Crossing Near This Interchange
This isn't the first time a pedestrian has died trying to cross I-37 near Loop 1604. In August 2023, San Antonio police identified 20-year-old Chun Roxanna Karina Hernandez as a woman found lying in the roadway with significant signs of trauma near the same interchange, according to KSAT's earlier coverage. In that case, too, police could not locate the vehicle that hit her, and the circumstances of her death went unresolved in the reporting that followed.
For now, the man found dead Thursday remains unnamed, and the vehicle that may have struck him remains unfound. Investigators continue to review what footage they have as they try to determine exactly what happened on that stretch of highway sometime between 10 p.m. Wednesday and midnight.
