Joseph Puente Injured in Auto Accident on Tancahua St in Corpus Christi, TX
Corpus Christi, TX — May 22, 2022, 51-year-old Joseph Puente was seriously injured in an auto accident on Tancahua Street in Corpus Christi.
Authorities say the incident happened around 1:00 a.m. on South Tancahua at Coleman Avenue. Preliminary investigation suggests a Ford F-150 pickup was eastbound on Coleman when the driver allegedly disregarded a stop sign at Tancahua. The pickup entered the intersection and crashed into the passenger side of Puente's southbound Chevy Trax SUV. The impact caused the Chevy to overturn and roll off the road into a nearby tree.
Puente suffered serious injuries in the crash. A passenger in the Trax received minor injuries.
When investigators arrived at the scene the Ford was unoccupied and no one in the area claimed it as their vehicle.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Joseph Puente Accident in Corpus Christi
As officers found the striking vehicle empty at the scene, it sounds like this collision was yet another Texas hit-and-run. It's always saddening and frustrating to learn another person tried to avoid responsibility after hurting someone, but at least police seem to have the vehicle they were driving. That's usually a good start as they can often follow the paper trail back to its owner; sometimes that's the suspect, but even if not they often know who was driving.
As this happened several months ago, hopefully police found a suspect and learned what on earth possessed them to run away. Maybe they just panicked, but certain details about the crash--time of night, ran a stop sign, fled the scene--make me wonder if they were intoxicated. It's an unfortunately common factor in hit-and-run wrecks like this one, and alcohol's involvement might have some further implications.
Before anyone can really know the specific reason the driver fled, though, police have to catch them. That's where community involvement comes in: If people are kept current on what police know they can use those details to keep an eye out for suspects. It may take some time, but if everyone stays vigilant and cooperates I have faith that justice can and will be done.
