A Texas man, identified as 31-year-old Nestor Joel Lujan Flores, is in custody following an incident where he allegedly struck a pedestrian. The pedestrian’s body entered the vehicle’s passenger seat, and Flores continued to drive for approximately 38 miles before stopping at a Jack in the Box restaurant. The White Settlement Police Department received a welfare check call and discovered the damaged gray Kia Forte in the restaurant’s parking lot. Inside the vehicle, officers found what appeared to be a deceased individual in the front passenger seat.
Emergency responders confirmed the passenger’s death at the scene. Flores informed authorities that he believed he had struck an animal in Dallas and continued driving until he reached the restaurant parking lot. However, he did not notify the police or emergency services about the incident. An alert was issued to local police agencies to determine if there were any reports of a hit-and-run or pedestrian crash, but none had been received at that time.
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office later notified the White Settlement Police Department of a crash on the westbound service road of Highway 30 near Cockrell Road. Human remains were found near the roadway, potentially matching the victim recovered from inside Flores’s vehicle. Both the Dallas County and Tarrant County medical examiner’s offices will collaborate to identify the victim.
As the investigation indicates that the crash occurred in Dallas County, the White Settlement Police Department transferred the case to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives believe that the impact was so severe that the victim’s body was propelled through the windshield and ended up on the passenger seat.
Flores’s vehicle has been impounded for further investigation, and a blood search warrant has been obtained, pending test results. Flores remains in custody with a pending charge of intoxicated manslaughter, based on police information. It is worth noting that Flores had previous arrests for driving while intoxicated, including one in 2020 by the Plano Police Department and a conviction in 2021 for the same charge in Collin County.
