Young Gay Man Killed in Houston Hit-and-Run

Police are searching for a driver that hit a young gay men and then fled the scene.

Michael Alexander Hill, who was called Alex by friends and family, died last week after being struck by a vehicle that ran a red light.

Hill, a recent transplant to the Texas city from South Carolina, had texted friends just minutes before the fatal collision.

"I'm walking over now, be there in 10," the 21-year-old man wrote at 12:17 a.m. on January 8.

Friends realized Hill would not be arriving when they saw an article online about the incident, along with a picture of a telling article of clothing.

"There was shoe in it and he instantly recognized it as Alex's shoe and that's when it really sunk in and we knew it was him," Landon Chapman told Click2Houston, a local news outlet.

Police estimate that Hill was hit around 12:30 a.m. as he crossed Westheimer Road in Houston's Montrose neighborhood. Although the driver sped away from the scene, eyewitnesses saw the four-door car and described it as a dark color.

Video captured by surveillance cameras shows a driver run a red light, hit Hill, and then speed off. The car had only one working headlight.

Hill had loved figure skating, and worked as a server at two restaurants in Houston while studying for the foreign services exam. Friends remember him as a friendly, happy, and ambitious young man.

"It feels like a part of my family is missing," Casey Ray told KTRK-TV. "He had this bright, positive aura. He always lit up a room. The waves of grief keep going and going."

Hill's family had launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for his body's transportation and burial. It exceeded its goal of $12,000.

"This world will be a dimmer place without the love and life of Alex Hill; we were blessed with him for such a brief time," reads an online obituary on the GoFundMe page.

Hill will be buried Monday, January 18, in Camden, South Carolina.

Houston police are still searching for the driver. Anyone with information regarding their identity or whereabouts is encouraged to call 713-222-TIPS.