SAN ANTONIO – A West Side man was shot early Monday while trying to help his neighbors whose home and cars were damaged in a hit-and-run crash, according to San Antonio police.
The 49-year-old man, who suffered a gunshot wound to his thigh, was in serious condition when he was taken to a hospital.
Police found him at the scene of a hit-and-run crash around 2 a.m. in the 2600 block of Saunders Avenue, where officers said a driver lost control and plowed into three parked cars.
The car also mowed down a fence and some railing on a home before coming to rest on the porch, police said. The front of the car left an impression in a front bedroom wall.
Catherine Eldred, who lives in the home with her mother and grandmother, said she woke up to two loud bangs, and looked outside and saw chaos.
One car, which she had parked about a half-block down, was sitting in her front lawn.
Another car that belongs to a relative was still parked on the street with heavy damage to its front end.
But what really caught Eldred's eye were two men who, at first, appeared to be fighting. She said one was holding the other at knife-point.
"He said, 'Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Get on your knees!,'" Eldred said. "From that point, I just went inside because I didn't want to witness what was going to happen after that. And after we went inside, about two minutes later after he drew the knife we heard a gunshot."
Police confirmed the man with the knife was Eldred's 49-year-old neighbor, who was attempting to keep the driver from leaving the crash scene.
Police said the driver and a passenger had returned to retrieve some items from the crashed car.
When the neighbor intervened, the passenger pulled out a gun and shot him, police said.
The driver and passenger ran away a second time.
Police launched a search with a canine officer and helicopter, but they did not locate the men.