HOUSTON – A man was killed and a driver is in custody following a hit-and-run accident Sunday, police said.
Police said the incident happened on the southbound 59 feeder road near Hillcroft Avenue around 9:25 p.m. Sunday.
A Cadillac struck a vehicle exiting the freeway at Hillcroft, police said. The Cadillac hit a Honda with such force it ejected the driver and forced the vehicle into a concrete pylon; splitting the car in two, officials said. The Cadillac then came to a rest on top of the ejected driver, police said.
Abdimalik Maigag, 29, was killed during the crash. His brother told KPRC 2, Maigag was a genuinely loving person with a good heart and great friend to many people.
Police said the driver of the other car, Jose Talamantes, 62, ran away from the accident and bystanders helped police track him down to a southwest Houston home.
“That’s what sticks out on this one, is just the coldness of the defendant and his ability to leave without any care for anyone around him,” said Sean Teare, chief of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office’s Vehicular Crimes Division.
Teare said Talamantes smelled of alcohol and blood/alcohol tests showed he was over the legal limit for driving. Court records show Talamantes has gone by different aliases over the years and has a criminal record dating back to 1979. Court records show before the accident, he had twice been convicted of DWI.
“So he is being charged in addition to the failure to stop and render aid with, that we have already charged him with, he’s being charged with felony murder.,” said Teare.
Teare plans to recommend to a judge that Talamantes be held without bail.
"This is someone who has proven over and over and over again that he is going to put everyone out there in danger with his actions, so we need to hold him where we know he is not going to be doing that until his trial,” Teare said.
KPRC 2 Investigates has shown you that out of the tens of thousands of DWI cases filed in our area each year, roughly 22% involve repeat offenders. During the pandemic, DWI cases dropped significantly throughout the Houston area, but Teare suspects the trend won’t stick.
“All of our concerns are that we’re going to see a spike in both DWIs and these types of crashes going forward,” said Teare.
A woman who answered the door at a home listed for Talamantes declined to comment.