The 15-year-old boy was riding in the back of the truck with several other people when he fell out.
SAN ANTONIO — A teenage boy is dead after San Antonio police say he fell out of the back of a pickup truck at an east-side sports complex Sunday evening.
Officers with SAPD, as well as San Antonio Park Police, responded to the Wheatly Heights Sports Complex on Upland Road around 5 p.m. Sunday for reports of an accident. According to authorities, the 15-year-old boy was found dead at the scene after 911 was called to report an accident.
But the driver didn’t wait for police to arrive before leaving.
Now authorities say they’re searching for the suspect who they say is a juvenile female after the truck was found elsewhere. Police believe she may have been the driver of the 2019 Dodge Ram truck that four people were riding in, including the dead boy.
It’s unknown how fast the truck may have been going when he fell out. But Anthony Knowles, who was heading to a nearby convenience store for ice when he saw the scene, said he saw the vehicle “doing donuts” in a field “with a bunch of kids in the back.”
“As I was seeing this, I said, ‘What is going on here? This truck is endangering these kids’ lives!'” Knowles said.
Before he could get out of his car to intervene, Knowles said the unthinkable happened: the 15-year-old fell out.
EMS arrived and tried to revive the teen, but he was pronounced deceased. The victim’s name has not been released yet.
“I didn’t actually see the child fall off of there, but I saw what she was doing that was not right with those kids on that truck!” Knowles said.
Watching several youngsters sit on the bed rails of the truck, with no good way to hold on, he said, was frightening.
“That’s why I said that was real dangerous. That’s what made my heart flicker when I saw this, because they were all sitting on the rails of the truck!” Knowles said. “It could have been all of them that died. And that wasn’t an accident; that was premeditated to me”.
Saying drifters often leave skid marks all over the park, Knowles said people who hear and see the dangerous behavior are hoping this tragic incident leads to change.
“That does not make any sense,” he said. “And now one’s dead in a park where children are supposed to play at. That’s not playing. That’s not good at all.”