Deadly hit-and-run crash on US 59 at Beechnut offramp shuts down highway, search underway for driver

Houston police searching for hit-and-run driver after deadly crash on US 59 near Beechnut exit (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

HOUSTON – A person is dead, and the search is on for the driver who hit them early Wednesday morning in southwest Houston.

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It happened around 2:30 a.m., according to Sgt. Griffiths with Houston PD’s Vehicular Crimes Division, when witnesses said a person was walking along the freeway’s southbound main lanes on U.S. 59.

Meanwhile, a driver taking the Beechnut exit, who witnesses say veered to try to avoid the pedestrian, but still hit them anyway.

Houston police searching for hit-and-run driver after deadly crash on US 59 near Beechnut exit (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

The driver was then seen stopping, but did not turn around or try to help, and kept going.

“Even though a person can not be at fault in the crash, it’s still a crime if they leave the scene without rendering aid when someone is seriously injured or it’s a fatality, or if they leave the scene and don’t give information even on minor crashes,” Sgt. Griffiths explained. “That’s where the crime occurs, is when someone doesn’t stay on scene or doesn’t call or doesn’t give any information.”

ALSO UNDER INVESTIGATION: Man shot to death after apparent robbery in southwest Houston

The pedestrian’s identity has not been released, as of this writing, and investigators have not shared any indication of who they might be.

Houston police searching for hit-and-run driver after deadly crash on US 59 near Beechnut exit (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

Due to the crash, all of the southbound lanes were shut down for hours, and drivers were asked to find an alternate route while HPD continues its investigation. The roadway reopened shortly after 5 a.m.


About the Authors
Ahmed Humble headshot

Historian, educator, writer, expert on "The Simpsons," amateur photographer, essayist, film & tv reviewer and race/religious identity scholar. Joined KPRC 2 in Spring 2024 but has been featured in various online newspapers and in the Journal of South Texas' Fall 2019 issue.

T.J. Parker headshot

T.J. Parker joined KPRC 2 in June 2023 and is happy to be back in Houston. Before coming back to the Lone Star State, T.J. was a reporter in Miami at WSVN Channel 7. There he covered all things up and down the south Florida coast.

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