Texas man hit and killed a pedestrian but didn't realize it until he found the body later on the roof of his car, police said

Texas police said a man hit and killed a pedestrian and didn't realize it until he drove to work and found the body of the victim on the roof of his SUV.

Robby Cox, Gregg County Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4, said that he was called at about 7:14 a.m. on Friday in Longview. Cox said the pedestrian stepped out in front of the vehicle and the driver "could not stop" before hitting the person.

“He knocked him (the pedestrian) through his windshield, on top of his car, and the car went on to work,” Cox explained. “He knew he hit something but didn’t know what. Then, he got out of his car and saw his body hanging on top of his car, and I guess that’s when PD got involved.”

Cox also said the man was pronounced dead at about 8 a.m.

The identity of the victim has not been released and police believe he might have been a homeless person. The man's body was sent for an autopsy in Tyler and Longview Police are still investigating the incident.

The Texas Department of Transportation reported that that 841 people died in 2021 from accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists. The department added that the state had not had one day without a death on their streets since Nov. 7, 2000, nearly 22 years ago.

A report from the nonprofit Governors Highway Safety Association found that there had been a record number of pedestrian fatalities in 2021, an estimated 7,485 people.

“This is heartbreaking and unacceptable,” said the association's executive director Jonathan Adkins in a news release. “The pandemic has caused so much death and damage, it’s frustrating to see even more lives needlessly taken due to dangerous driving.”

The report found that many fatal accidents occurred at night because of the lack of visibility from darkness.

Here's more about the rise in pedestrian deaths:

Why Are Pedestrian Deaths On The Rise?www.youtube.com