LAMESA, Dawson County, Texas, Oct. 4, 2026 — A woman died early on Saturday morning, October 3, after being struck by a vehicle on US Highway 180 west in Lamesa. The driver did not stop, according to the Lamesa Police Department.
Officers were called to the 2400 block of US-180 west around 1:13 a.m. after a report of a vehicle striking a pedestrian. The woman, identified by police as 39-year-old Maribel Perez, was found dead at the scene.
Investigators said the driver left the area heading eastbound into Lamesa without stopping to help. The Texas Department of Public Safety assisted Lamesa police with the investigation that followed.
Detectives located the suspected vehicle, described as a white Ford Mustang, and its driver at about 5:17 a.m., the department said. The man, identified as 27-year-old Aaron Aguilar, was arrested at a home near North 12th Street and Highway 137 in Lamesa.
Aguilar was booked into the Dawson County Detention Center. He faces charges of failure to render aid resulting in death and intoxicated manslaughter, according to police. The case remains under investigation.
We are deeply sorry for the loss suffered by the victim's family.
When Hit-and-Run Crashes Involving Pedestrians Are Most Common
Hit-and-run crashes involving people on foot cluster in the overnight and early morning hours, when roads are darker, and drivers are more likely to be fatigued or impaired. Visibility drops sharply after midnight on roads without heavy street lighting, making pedestrians harder to see until a driver is nearly on top of them.
Weekend nights see a higher share of these crashes than weeknights, usually tied to alcohol use among drivers. Traffic volume is lower at these hours, but the vehicles still on the road tend to be moving faster, giving drivers less time to react and pedestrians less time to get clear.
According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, more than 70 percent of people killed in hit-and-run crashes were pedestrians and bicyclists in 2023. That pattern reflects how exposed people on foot are when visibility and driver attention are both reduced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do fatal pedestrian crashes most commonly occur?
They happen more commonly on roads with higher speed limits and little to no lighting, especially where pedestrians cross outside of marked intersections.
What factors make a crash more likely to be fatal?
Higher vehicle speed, darkness, driver impairment, and a failure to stop and render aid all raise the chances that a crash ends in death rather than injury.
How does speed affect survivability for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle?
Even modest increases in vehicle speed sharply reduce a pedestrian's chance of survival, since the force of impact grows much faster than the speed itself.
What to Do After a Hit-and-Run Crash in Lamesa, TX
If you witness a hit-and-run, call 911 immediately and try to note the vehicle's color, make, and direction of travel without putting yourself at risk. Stay with anyone who is injured if it's safe to do so, and wait for officers to arrive and take a report.
Anyone involved in or connected to a hit-and-run should seek medical evaluation even if injuries seem minor at first, since shock can mask pain. Cooperating fully with police and providing any photos, dashcam footage, or witness contact information can help investigators identify a driver who fled the scene.
