Sheriff Javier Salazar said he was involved in a car crash Saturday evening that sent the other driver to the hospital, but he left the scene unharmed and was able to deliver a press conference later that same night.
The accident took place at the intersection of South Pecos La Trinidad and Guadalupe Street. Salazar said he was on the access road, having just left the jail to head home.
“I believe a vehicle ran a red light in front of me, and I T-boned them,” he told reporters.
The sheriff was in his county vehicle and his airbags didn’t deploy. But they did deploy on the other vehicle, and a passenger was hospitalized.
“An elderly woman [who] was in the passenger seat was transported, I think more as a precaution,” Salazar said. “I don’t believe she was injured as a result of the crash, but she was experiencing some some chest pain, some anxiety, I believe, is what it was, and so EMS took her.”
KSAT first reported the accident around 7:20 p.m.
Salazar was speaking to the press later that night about an arrest made in connection with sexual assault of a child, and took questions about the accident at the end.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I’m happy that there was an outpouring of support, people have been calling. Thankfully, I wasn’t hurt in the crash.”
He said a traffic deputy responded to the accident. He expects his vehicle to be repaired relatively quickly.
“The county is self-insured, so that’s who handles that,” he said. “If at some point the other driver is found to be at fault, obviously we’ll file on their insurance.”
Salazar, one of Bexar County’s most popular elected officials, was elected to a third term in 2024.
