Delivery driver confessed to strangling Texas girl after accidentally hitting her with van, warrant says

A delivery driver suspected in the murder of a 7-year-old girl in North Texas told investigators that he accidentally struck her with his van prior to strangling her, according to an arrest warrant.

The suspect, 31-year-old Tanner Lynn Horner, told Wise County Sheriff's detectives that he was backing up a FedEx truck when he struck 7-year-old Athena Strand last Wednesday, per an arrest warrant obtained Thursday by CBS DFW.

Horner told investigators that, after hitting Strand, he panicked and placed her inside the truck, the arrest warrant reads. He also told police that, after hitting her, Strand was not seriously hurt and was "alive" and "talking to him," according to the warrant.