Many are feeling the pain following the loss of a 46-year-old man from Mercedes.

David Zapata was a tow truck driver who died when he was struck by a vehicle on Tuesday while working on the expressway in Harlingen.

“He was a great guy,” Ted Hernandez said. “He had his family and he was like any other tow truck driver, working on the roads, 24/7 day or night."

Ted Hernandez said he knew Zapata from the job, called him a close friend. 

Progreso Mayor Hugo Gamboa even posted about Zapata’s death on Facebook, and said Zapata will “Always be remembered with love and gratitude.”

Hernandez has been in the towing business for over 10 years, and said he has seen the dangers of working on the roads.

He’s added extra lights as safety measures to his tow trucks.

“We try to alert the people that we're on the side of the road, but there's a lot of people that we've gotten off the road, and we see them swerve into the shoulder and come back in, or we pass right next to each other,” Hernandez said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the crash that killed Zapata, and arrested 28-year-old Cristobal Stephan Garzez in connection with the death.

READ MORE: Bond issued for Donna man accused of causing deadly crash in Harlingen

Garzez was arraigned Wednesday on multiple charges, including intoxication manslaughter, failure to stop and render aid involving death and possession of a controlled substance. His bond was set at $725,000.

Garzez allegedly fled from the crash but was located near the scene and taken into custody.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by Channel 5 News, Garzez told law enforcement officers at the scene that he didn't stop when the crash happened because he was "scared."

The complaint said there was blood spatter on the passenger door of Garzez's vehicle. The complaint added that a small white baggy containing 1.26 grams of a white powdery substance was found in Garzez's vehicle.

Garzez also had "constricted pupils," leading the trooper to believe that Garzez was under the influence of narcotics, the complaint states.

"Garzez was eager to provide breath sample was hesitant to provide blood sample," the complaint said, adding that Garzez later consented to having his blood drawn.

The toxicology report was not provided in the complaint.

Law enforcement officers, first responders, and others who work on roads throughout the Rio Grande Valley are urging the community to be alert while driving.

"As law enforcement officers, we're gonna go out there and look for those situations more so now than we have before,” Harlingen police Sgt. Salvador Carmona said. “We'll be on the other side of that hazard and if you didn't move over or you didn't slow down 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit, we're gonna pull you over."

Carmona said it's not only important for safety, but it's the law to move over or slow down for stopped emergency and service vehicles, including tow truck driver.

Doing so can help save a life, Hernandez said.

A GoFundMe was set up to support the family of David Zapata following his death. Click here to donate.

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