HOUSTON – A tow truck driver is expected to face charges after a man was killed in southwest Houston, according to a Harris County prosecutor.
Police said the incident happened around 7:20 a.m. on South Gessner Road near Triola Lane.
The victim was Alberto Nduli, 68, according to family members, who said he was a hardworking father of seven children.
Investigators said the tow truck driver tried to repossess the victim’s SUV Thursday morning from his apartment on Gessner and Triola.
“The owner came out and tried to prevent him from taking that vehicle, he jumped on top of it, the wrecker continued down the street,” said Cmdr. Kevin Deese, with the Houston Police Department.
Investigators said the victim fell off the SUV and hit his head on the street, killing him.
The tow truck driver left the scene but returned later when police called him back, investigators said. Officers handcuffed the tow truck driver and put him in a patrol car.
“(The tow truck driver) didn’t ensure that this person was going to get the proper aid. He simply took the car and dropped it off, and that’s unacceptable,” said Sean Teare, head of the Harris County District Attorney's Office Vehicular Crimes Division.
Teare said they'll charge the driver with failure to stop and render aid. However, there could be more charges.
“There is a potential for more charges from criminal negligence to manslaughter to murder, something like that if we believe and determine that this was a reckless or negligent act or intentional,” said Teare.