Houston, TX — October 29, 2024, 57-year-old pedestrian Mary Rankin was killed by a vehicle in a hit-and-run on the Gulf Freeway service road in Houston.
According to authorities, the incident happened around 10:00 p.m. on the 3500 block of the Gulf Freeway (I-45) service road near Miller Street. Preliminary investigation suggests Mary Rankin was walking on the shoulder or possibly in a lane of the road when she was hit by a northbound vehicle of unknown make, model, or color. The vehicle left the scene without stopping.
Mary Rankin suffered fatal injuries in the collision.
The investigation is ongoing. No further information is currently available.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
It’s always frustrating and disappointing to read about Texas hit-and-runs, yet more seem to appear in the news all the time. There’s no excuse for a driver hitting someone and leaving the scene, so it’s important to track whoever did that down and ensure they face proper consequences. It doesn’t sound like police have a lot to go on initially, so they’ll have to stay diligent and community members should come forward with any information about the vehicle or suspect. It may seem pretty tough for investigators to get some useful clues, but there’s still plenty of hope. They might find footage from a nearby business or traffic camera, or a witness might have seen a damaged car drive through. We’ve even seen cases where a body shop employee recognized signs of a pedestrian crash and called police when the offender tried to get the evidence removed.
Whatever it takes, police should make sure that pedestrian’s death does not go unpunished. Once a suspect is in custody hopefully investigators will find out what they were thinking when they left someone to die. Maybe they just panicked, but in many cases something else (illegal drugs or guns in the car, outstanding warrants, drunk driving) contributed to their decision. Only time and careful investigation could say, but if everyone does their part I’m hopeful there will be useful answers soon. Any steps beyond that would depend on what those answers are.
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