Police: Man was struck, dragged to death by DWI suspect

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One man was injured and Tyler G. Scott Burns was killed Jan. 23, 2017, in a fatal rollover crash on Interstate 10 on the Northwest Side.

Tyler G. Scott Burns was a traveler who enjoyed meeting new people and striking up conversations, but often preferred being on his own, his mother Donalee Burns said.

“He loved his family but needed to be by himself,” she said. “He would go for walks all night long … walking and thinking about things.”

Although he hadn’t ventured far from home on Jan. 23, he reached a Northwest Side bus stop just after 2 a.m. in the 13500 block of Interstate 10 West where he was fatally struck by a drunken driver, according to a San Antonio Police Department report.

Juan Jose Cortez-Guidel, 26, is facing a charge of intoxicated manslaughter in Burns’ death, according to the report.

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Investigators initially thought Burns was thrown from the vehicle after he was discovered lying in front of a 2003 Infiniti G35 sedan when officers arrived, according to preliminary information.

After examining the scene, police determined Burns was waiting at a VIA bus stop when the car left the road and hit him, the report states.

His mother was told by investigators that Burns had been caught under the vehicle, which was traveling 60 miles per hour, when it flipped over after leaving the road.

Burns was then dragged several feet before hitting a fence, the report states. He was pronounced dead when first responders arrived, police said.

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“He would not hurt anybody. It really upsets me the way he died,” Burns’ mother said. “You know God says whenever your time is … but he did not deserve to die like this.”

Police on scene noted they smelled intoxicants in Cortez-Guidel’s breath before he was taken to University Hospital.

Cortez-Guidel was tested for intoxication but the results were not available in the report, which notes he was detained at the hospital.

Burns’ travels had taken him as far as New York, his mother said, noting that he made many friends along the way and back. He had been living with his mom and brother prior to his death.

“He just liked to go and come back. He always knew where home was and kept one of my sister’s numbers on him,” Donalee Burns said. “I loved him more than anything in this world and so did his family.”

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA

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