East Texas

CANTON — Authorities have released the name of a 16-year-old who was found in the middle of Texas Highway 243 early Monday morning about two miles west of Canton High School.

Travis James Answorth, of Kaufman, later died from unknown injuries at a Kaufman County hospital.

Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office investigators said the teen appeared to have been hit by a car. Sheriff Pat Burnett said his department was called out to Texas Highway 243 shortly after 2 a.m. Monday. The teen was lying in the roadway “incoherent but conscious,” Burnett said.

Burnett said it was unclear how he ended up in the roadway.

Burnett said Texas Department of Public Safety has joined the investigation, and it is believed the teen is the victim of a possible hit and run.

“We’re leaning toward a traffic fatality, but don’t know for sure. We’re asking anyone who might have been on 243 and heard or saw something to give us a call,” Burnett said.