Just before 2 p.m., commuters spotted a fully nude man running along I-10’s access road near De Zavala, bringing traffic to a crawl.
SAN ANTONIO — A bizarre scene on the northwest side left drivers stunned Wednesday afternoon, when a naked man was spotted running along the access road of Interstate 10.
It happened just before 2 p.m. between De Zavala and Fredericksburg roads. At first, many thought the slowdown was simply traffic congestion. Then the cause came into focus.
“I heard a bunch of cars honking. I was looking around, like are they honking at me?” said Lisa Cabrera. “My reaction was like, ‘Oh my God!’ He’s naked! I’m saying, like, naked naked going for an afternoon stroll.”
Cabrera said the man looked right at her “like he was posing or something.” Another driver followed closely behind him with hazard lights flashing.
Rodrigo Medina, who was returning to work from lunch, also saw the commotion.
“I couldn’t believe it. It felt so surreal to me,” he said. Medina added that while some thought it was a prank, he grew concerned the man may have been in distress.
“Mental health is pretty serious, especially now at these times. A lot of things are very difficult to deal with, not only with how the economy is changing, but how the world is changing. Just mentally, things are getting harder all the time,” Medina said. “I just hope he’s ok.”
San Antonio police said the first call came in at 1:38 p.m. for lewd conduct. Officers detained the man near Fredericksburg Road and took him to a hospital for a medical evaluation.
Authorities have not released the man’s name.