A man was found dead on a Houston roadway before dawn Tuesday, and the driver who apparently hit him is gone. Police are treating it as a suspected hit-and-run near Highway 225 and Leander Street, and they say the stretch where it happened is dark and difficult to see.
The Houston Police Department said the incident happened just before 4 a.m., as reported by ABC13 Houston. Someone on their way to work noticed a man lying on the road and called 911. When first responders arrived, they pronounced him dead.
The victim has not been identified. He was described as a man in his late 30s or 40s.
No Witnesses, No Video, and a Missing Driver
Police say the driver who allegedly struck the man did not stay at the scene. According to HPD, there were no witnesses or surveillance video, which leaves investigators with little to go on in the early hours of the case.
Police also noted that the area is very dark and hard to see.
Anyone with information is asked to contact HPD's hit-and-run division at 713-247-4072.
A Stretch of Road With a Troubling Record
This is far from the first deadly incident involving a pedestrian on Highway 225. Last December, FOX 26 Houston reported that a woman was struck and killed overnight after allegedly leaving her vehicle mid-argument on the highway. In an earlier case, a pedestrian was killed on Highway 225 in Pasadena, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Another deadly pedestrian crash along westbound Highway 225 shut down part of the freeway for several hours, according to ABC13. And just last week, KPRC published a report headlined “One of the deadliest US roads runs through Houston. Fixes planned for 2028.”
The Statewide Picture
Texas has been dealing with a rising toll for people on foot. The Texas Department of Transportation said that in 2023, 914 bicyclists and pedestrians died in traffic crashes in the state, with pedestrian deaths up 22% and bicyclist fatalities up 58% from 2019 to 2023, according to TxDOT.
A separate TxDOT crash facts report puts pedestrian fatalities at 695 in 2025.
