Two fatal hit-and-runs overnight

Last night wasn't a good one for people on foot in Houston: Two people were killed in two separate vehicle-pedestrian accidents, and in both cases, the drivers fled the scenes.

The first accident happened around 9:15 p.m. yesterday at Emnora and Peppermill in Spring Branch, where a 16-year-old girl and her friends were crossing the street. A Ford F-150 heading east along Emnora went across oncoming traffic and onto the shoulder, hitting the girl, who died at the scene. The truck continued down the road and eventually ran into a westbound truck; the driver fled on foot.

Then, around 4 a.m., a pedestrian trying to cross the Southwest Freeway at Bellaire was killed when he was hit by a passing car. According to the Chronicle, the pedestrian first ran into the cab of an 18-wheeler, so the truck driver and another motorist stopped to help him. The two reported that the man was conscious and breathing when a maroon Toyota Corolla came along and hit him, sending him flying through the air. The Corolla driver stopped, got out of his car, looked at the body and then drove away, police said; the pedestrian died a few minutes later. Witnesses didn't get the Corolla's license number, but if police find its driver, he could face a charge of failure to stop and render aid.

Anyone with information about the freeway incident should call the HPD Traffic Division at 713.247.4072.