Boise police are investigating after a pedestrian was found dead in a road Friday night, according to a news release.

Officers responded to a call from a driver who reported they had run over a dead body, the release said. Police found a man with "severe fatal injuries" in the area of West Overland Road and South Atlantic Street, according to the Boise Police Department release.

"Upon further investigation, officers learned that several drivers saw what they believed to be an object in the roadway and were able to swerve out of the way," the release said. "But some drivers were not able to, and evidence indicates the victim had been run over several times."

Overland Road was shut down between Latah and Owyhee streets for several hours, police said.

The man's identity is unknown, police said, and they ask any witnesses who haven't spoken with law enforcement yet to call Ada County Dispatch at 208-377-6790.

Last year, Idaho had 226 pedestrian crashes. Of those, there were 31 deaths, according to Idaho Transportation Department data -- almost double the number from the year before.

And 98% of pedestrians involved in crashes last year had some level of injury, according to the data.