Eddie Maciel Jr. was only 33 when his body turned up in the grass next to the northbound lanes of Interstate 37. It was just north of Loop 1604 on the Far South Side of San Antonio. A tow truck driver spotted him shortly after 8:30 in the morning on Thursday and called it in right away.
Cops got there and saw Eddie lying on the right side of the highway. Paramedics checked him over but pronounced him dead right there at the scene. The medical examiner later said he died from blunt force injuries. That matched what the evidence was pointing to.
Investigators figure it happened sometime between 10 at night on Wednesday and midnight. Eddie looked like he was trying to cross the highway from east to west when a passing vehicle hit him. At first some info came in that maybe he fell out of a truck. The scene told a different story though.
There was a surveillance camera that caught the whole thing. Darkness and shadows made it hard to make out clear details. Detectives are still digging through that footage to pin down exactly how it went. No one has named the vehicle or said if the driver ever stopped.
Eddie was wearing a button-down shirt and jeans. Nothing around him suggested he was homeless. Cops said it looked more like he might have been headed to work or coming home from it. Just his personal stuff and clothes were found nearby. No backpack or extra clues about where he was going.
At 33 he still had years ahead. Family and friends are left with the sudden quiet that follows this kind of loss. Investigators keep working the case. They want a clearer timeline and any info that can explain the full picture.
People who knew Eddie remember him as more than the way it ended. The highway stretch stays busy as always. His name is now tied to that stretch of road on the Far South Side.
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