Houston police arrest a 15-year-old boy for a deadly hit-and-run that killed 17-year-old Brian Gonzalez on Sunday morning.

HOUSTON — Houston police say a 15-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash that killed a 17-year-old early Sunday morning on the city’s south side.

Investigators said the crash happened just before 1 a.m. on Kassarine Pass near Martin Luther King Boulevard. According to police, a red GMC Sierra was speeding down the street when its side mirror struck a woman in the roadway, then hit Brian Gonzalez. The driver kept going without stopping to help.

Gonzalez, a high school senior who was just two months shy of turning 18, was taken to a hospital where he died.

Police said officers later found the vehicle and arrested the 15-year-old driver. The suspect was referred to Harris County Juvenile Probation authorities on charges of failure to stop and render aid causing death and failure to stop and render aid causing bodily injury. Because the suspect is a juvenile, his name and booking photo have not been released.

Family members previously told KHOU 11 that Gonzalez had been walking home from a large party in the area when he was hit.

“We are all devastated, very sad, very frustrated, that such a young life was taken from us so suddenly,” Alondra Gonzalez, the victim’s sister-in-law, told Reporter Orko Manna. “I believe it hasn’t fully settled in yet. We’re just struggling trying to be strong.”

Family members and close friends gathered together Sunday to remember Gonzalez. They described him as funny, kind and selfless.

“End of the day, Brian is like family to all of us. To all of us, Brian is like family. I mean, it’s going to hit everybody,” friend Omar Paita said.

Those closest to Brian Gonzalez said they are still wrapping their heads around the fact that someone could have hit him and did not stop to help. 

“To hear that somebody just with no remorse did that, I feel like they should be handled to the fullest degree, you know,” close friend Jonathon Malagon said.

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