Maria Elena Balli thought she was called to a Brownsville hospital early Wednesday because her son had fainted.
However, the news she got was far more tragic than she could ever imagine.
When she arrived at the hospital, she discovered she was actually there to identify the body of her son 20-year-old son Alberto Balli.
"He lost a lot of blood (because) he hit the back of his head, and he had a big cut across his face,” Balli said. “His arms were purple, and his chest and pelvis were crushed."
Police said it was about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday that witnesses called 9-1-1 about a man lying in the street on the 900 block of Old Port Isabel Road near Price Road.
Police do not why he was in the middle of the road.
His mother believes it must’ve happened during his usual walks to a nearby convenience store.
"He probably fainted because he would hardly eat,” Balli said. “He had lost a lot of weight and I wanted to take him to the doctor but he didn’t want to."
Police said several drivers had to swerve to miss him, until one vehicle drove right over Balli dragging him about 50 feet.
According to witnesses, the driver of a white Ford Focus then pulled over at a nearby bank, looked around and then fled from the scene.
"The only description that we have is that it's a younger male maybe in the late teens early 20s and he was wearing a ball cap," Inv. J.J. Treviño said.
Balli said while she knows accidents occur, she's in disbelief that the driver didn't stay to help her “baby.”
"The message for everyone is if you're involved in an accident, the worst thing you can do is leave,”
Treviño said. “Stay at the scene of the accident, regardless of what it is."
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