A man died after he was hit by a car then run over by a transit bus which dragged him six kilometres through the Massey tunnel Friday night in Delta.

The driver discovered that his vehicle had snared the man when he pulled into a bus stop to check his brakes, said Cpl Bryan Fedirchuk of Deas Island RCMP.

"Until that moment, nobody on the bus knew a thing," Fedirchuk told CTV News.

The South Asian man in his late 30s (whose name is being withheld at the request of his family) was hit by a car around 11 p.m. as he walked across Highway 17 near Ladner Trunk Road.

The driver of the car pulled over and called the police.

But when he returned to the site he didn't find a body -- only a shirt and a jacket.

A Coast Mountain bus had driven by and managed to pick up the pedestrian in the undercarriage.

The bus traveled along Highway 17, through the Massey Tunnel, and then along Highway 99 for about six kilometres.

When the driver noticed something wrong with his brakes, he pulled over to check the problem.

That's when he saw the human remains underneath, and called police as well.

It's not clear if the man died on the first impact, or while he was being dragged.

On Sunday Delta police revealed the man had been arrested around noon that same day for appearing to be intoxicated.

When the officer involved was unable to locate any immediate family to take responsibility for the man he was transported to the Delta Police headquarters to be held for his own safety until he was sober.

After officers saw no improvement in his condition by mid-afternoon the was taken to Delta hospital for an assessment.

About 6:30 p.m. police were called to the local recreation center in Ladner where a disturbance was reported.

The investigating officer found the same man had been causing a commotion.

After speaking with him, a DPD statement said, the officer was convinced the man "was lucid and able to look after himself."

He was offered a ride to the Ladner bus loop and accepted.

There he was last seen heading for a Vancouver-bound bus.

The case is being investigated by the RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Office.

- with files from CTV News