Police: Man, 30, killed in far West side crash was distracted, not wearing seatbelt

YouTube video was playing on cell phone, police say

SAN ANTONIO – A 30-year-old driver who was killed in a crash on the far West Side was distracted and not wearing a seatbelt, according to San Antonio traffic investigators.

Police said Jose M. Moreno was the driver of the truck that crashed after 6:30 a.m. Friday in the southbound Loop 1604 access road near Highway 151.

Officer Alisia Pruneda, a public information officer for SAPD, says investigators determined that a pickup had rear-ended an 18-wheeler, which was stopped in the right-hand lane of the access road with its blinkers on.

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She said the pickup driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died almost immediately. His cell phone was playing a YouTube video as first responders tried to save him, police said.

"He was pinned under the truck in his pickup truck,” Pruneda said. “At this point, we do determine that he may have been distracted and traveling at a high rate of speed.”

The driver of the 18-wheeler is not facing any charges, according to Pruneda.

“A lot of these accidents that we see that involve, unfortunately, some fatalities are as a result of distracted driving,” she said. “It just takes a second to take your eyes off the roadway.”

After the crash, the access road and a few other streets leading to it remained closed for several hours while the investigation was being conducted.


About the Authors:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Tim has been a photojournalist and video editor at KSAT since 1998. He came to San Antonio from Lubbock, where he worked in TV and earned his bachelor's degree in Electronic Media and Communication from Texas Tech University. Tim has won a handful of awards and has earned a master's in Strategic Communication and Innovation from Tech as well.