SAN ANTONIO – An arrest affidavit is revealing details about a hit-and-run suspect who police say struck the victim after drinking at a bar.
Gabriel Noriega, 25, has been charged with failure to stop and render aid resulting in death following the incident around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 1 in the 2300 block of U.S. Hwy 281, according to booking records. He was arrested Wednesday and booked on a $60,000 bond.
Police said Noriega was driving a 1993 Chevrolet 1500 pickup truck southbound on the highway, near the Pearl complex, when he struck Alberto Flores, 23, who was walking on the road.
Noriega accelerated after hitting Flores and struck a 2016 Dodge Dart, police said. The pickup truck then spun out of control on the highway and struck a guardrail.
Family remembers hit-and-run victim as a hardworking, loving man
Witnesses in the Dart saw Noriega run from his truck and jump a barbed wire fence into a storage facility along the highway, according to an arrest affidavit.
Flores was pronounced dead at the scene.
The affidavit states Noriega met with three friends at Brass Monkey on the St. Mary’s Strip before the crash. One friend said after they left the bar, Noriega called her and said he wrecked his truck and needed a ride, the affidavit states.
The friend and another woman picked Noriega up near the Pearl, but they said he did not give details about the crash. The affidavit states Noriega and his friends were drinking at the bar and stayed until closing time.
Police officers went to the registered address of the Chevrolet pickup truck and spoke with Noriega’s parents, who said they were babysitting for him while he went out with friends, the affidavit states.
Police plotted his GPS location and said his cell phone pinged near the scene one minute before the crash. His GPS location showed him moving from the scene to the Pearl area, the affidavit states.
Following Flores’ death, his family told KSAT 12 News that they did not know why he was walking on the highway that night.