Inset: Nestor Lujan Flores (White Settlement police). Background: The car Lujan Flores was driving when he hit a pedestrian (KDFW/YouTube).
A Texas man who slammed into a pedestrian, causing the victim to fly through the windshield before driving nearly 40 miles with the body next to him is headed to prison.
Nestor Lujan Flores was sentenced to 15 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter and collision involving death.
Lujan Flores, then 31, was driving on Dec. 16, 2023, along the westbound I-30 service road in Dallas when he hit the pedestrian, prosecutors said.
"Evidence showed the impact was so severe the victim was thrown into the vehicle," a press release said. "Portions of the victim's remains were later recovered at the crash site."
An arrest affidavit obtained by local ABC affiliate WFAA said the body was found upside down in the seat with the victim's head on the floorboard — and his legs missing.
As Law&Crime previously reported, police in White Settlement said in a news release that officers were called to a Jack in the Box restaurant in the 8700 block of Interstate Highway 30 service road. The caller said a gray Kia Forte had extensive front-end and hood damage along with a shattered windshield. A man also appeared slumped over the steering wheel.
An officer arrived and realized there was also a dead person in the passenger seat.
The officer removed Lujan Flores from the car.
White Settlement Police Chief Christopher Cook told reporters the man was confused and claimed he thought he hit an animal. Paramedics responded and pronounced the passenger dead. The car had been parked at the restaurant parking lot for two or three hours before someone called 911.
Police were initially uncertain where the actual crash occurred, but the Dallas County Sheriff's Office the next morning discovered a crash scene on the westbound service road of Interstate Highway 30 near Cockrell Hill Road. Sheriff's office investigators found "human remains" at the crash site that belonged to the victim found in the restaurant parking lot.
Lujan Flores hit the pedestrian and proceeded to drive 38 miles to the restaurant. He never called police. The Dallas County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation since the crash happened in that jurisdiction. Officials did not publicly identify the victim.
The suspect has a previous conviction in 2021 for driving while intoxicated in Collin County. The Plano Police Department arrested him on the same charge in 2020, the news release said.
"This case is a stark reminder of the devastation caused by impaired driving," Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said in a statement. "The victim lost his life, and a family was forever changed. This sentence reflects the seriousness of the defendant's actions and holds him accountable for the harm he caused."
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