Man charged in death of USPS worker trapped under mail truck in hit-and-run crash: Houston police
HOUSTON -- Charges have been filed days after a postal worker was killed in a hit-and-run crash in north Houston.
Jesus Natividad Gutierrez, 43, is charged with failure to stop and render aid and filing a false police report. A judge set his bond at $105,000 total for both charges.
Just before 3 p.m. Saturday, police said 29-year-old U.S. Postal Service employee Robert Jones was on his normal route when an SUV tried to go around his postal truck and another car.
Surveillance footage obtained by ABC Houston affiliate KTRK shows Jones trying to make a left turn when the SUV clipped his mail truck, causing it to spin and flip over into a ditch. Jones was ejected and trapped underneath his truck.
Meanwhile, the suspect's car, which police described as a 2011 white Ford Expedition, appears to slow down before driving off.
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"You had no regard for human life at all," J'La Jones, the victim's wife, told KTRK. "You didn't have to do that. You could have at least stopped and seen if he was OK, and called 911. You did nothing. You didn't care about his life, his family, nothing, or what your actions were going to do."
Police praised witnesses who were seen on surveillance footage running to try and save Jones while others are seen chasing after the suspect's SUV.
According to the Houston Police Department, witnesses wrote down the driver's license plate. Police tracked down the registered vehicle owner, listed as Gutierrez, and went to his home address, according to records.
Gutierrez reportedly told police his SUV was stolen by suspects in a parking lot. According to police, it was never actually stolen.
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Paramedics transported Jones to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Postal worker thrown from truck after being hit by driver who fled in north Houston hit-and-run: HPD
According to family members, Jones worked for the USPS for seven years and loved his job more than anything. While he was an aspiring engineer, he cherished the connections he made in the community. He leaves behind a 4-year-old daughter, whom family members described as his entire world.
"Robert was a girl-dad," Bowman said. "He spent every day with his daughter. He was just planning a trip with her for her birthday coming up in November for Disney. He already had the tickets."
HPD said Gutierrez was identified as the driver in the hit-and-run and was arrested without incident on Tuesday.
According to court records, Gutierrez was charged with felon in possession of a weapon in 2018 and given probation.
