SAN ANTONIO — The mother of Edward Eugene Finex says she is relieved an arrest has been made nearly a month after her son was struck and killed along a dark Southeast Bexar County road.
Finex, 37, was walking home after dropping his wife off at a hospital when he was hit on Hildebrandt Road on Aug. 22, his mother, Charlene Broussard, said. He was just minutes from home.
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His body was found four days later by a county public works employee in the 8500 block of Hildebrandt Road.
“I knew in my heart that was my child,” Broussard said of arriving at the scene. “I just couldn’t wrap my head and my mind around the fact that that was him.”
She described the past month as a “nightmare” for her family, marked by little sleep and overwhelming grief. Finex’s funeral service is scheduled for Saturday in his hometown of Wharton, Texas.
Bexar County deputies arrested 24-year-old Eduardo Eric Piña this week and charged him with collision involving death, a second-degree felony. Investigators say Piña told them he believed he hit an animal while driving home, returned to the area later, but did not report the crash.
Broussard said she received the news of Piña’s arrest from an investigator and was grateful that the case moved quickly.
“San Antonio has been on it ever since the first day they stepped on the scene,” she said. “They did what I wanted them to do, was find the person quickly.”
She said Hildebrandt Road is especially dangerous at night because there are no lights along the rural stretch.
Broussard urged drivers to stop and call 911 if they believe they may have hit something.
“You never know,” she said.
Finex was a family-oriented man who loved helping others and brought a joyful presence to those around him, his mother said.
“He was a joyful person to be around,” Broussard said. “He just had this pleasant atmosphere where you wanted to be in his presence.”