Houston, TX — January 17, 2026, one person was killed in a hit-and-run accident at about 3:45 a.m. in the 13000 block of Cullen Boulevard.

Authorities said a Ford F-350 collided with a Toyota Camry at the intersection with Almeda Genoa Road, leaving the truck on top of the smaller car.

The woman who was driving the Toyota was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities. Her name has not been made public yet.

The Ford driver fled on foot after the crash, authorities said.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Harris County crash at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When someone loses their life in a sudden, violent crash, it's easy to zero in on the most shocking details, especially when the other driver runs from the scene. But even when the facts seem straightforward, it’s important to step back and ask whether every angle has truly been explored.

Did the authorities thoroughly investigate the crash? Crashes involving large trucks and smaller vehicles demand careful scrutiny, especially when the damage is as severe as one vehicle ending up on top of the other. The initial shock of a hit-and-run often shifts focus toward finding the fleeing driver, but that urgency shouldn't come at the expense of a full crash reconstruction. Did investigators take time to laser map the scene or reconstruct each vehicle’s path? Were surveillance cameras canvassed to piece together the truck's movements leading up to impact? These steps can mean the difference between a partial picture and a full understanding of what happened.

Has anyone looked into the possibility that a vehicle defect caused the crash? It’s easy to assume the person who ran was entirely at fault, but in some cases, people flee out of panic or even due to confusion after a mechanical failure. Was the Ford’s braking system inspected? Could a stuck throttle or steering problem have played a role? If the crash involved such a large force imbalance, an F-350 landing atop a car, there’s a good reason to dig into whether the truck’s systems failed or if load distribution affected handling. The fact that one vehicle left the scene shouldn't excuse skipping a thorough mechanical review.

Has all the electronic data relating to the crash been collected? Modern vehicles leave a digital trail, one that can often speak louder than witnesses. Did investigators pull black box data from the Camry to confirm speed or braking? What about GPS records, phone logs or traffic camera footage from nearby intersections? If the Ford F-350 belonged to a business or was equipped with telematics, that data could be vital in tracing the driver’s behavior before the crash. Tracking this digital evidence matters just as much as physical clues on the ground.

When someone dies in a crash, especially one involving a fleeing driver, there’s an understandable drive to find who was responsible. But answers don’t stop with an arrest. Real accountability means asking harder questions about how the crash happened in the first place, and whether anything could’ve been done to prevent it.

• Crash scenes need more than surface-level reviews to reveal what really happened.
• Mechanical failures don’t leave obvious signs. Inspections must go deeper.
• Vehicle data can fill in critical blanks that witnesses or physical evidence can’t.