But family members of 26-year-old Calvin ``Cal'' Key Wilson Jr. say they're still struggling to understand what led to his death. They also want to learn more about how he died in the predawn darkness Friday on Interstate 85.
``We're having to bury our son with a lot of questions, when we should be celebrating his life,'' Wilson's father, Calvin Wilson Sr., said.
Wilson carried no identification, and Gwinnett County police initially had no idea who he was.
Relatives more than 200 miles away in North Carolina pleaded with friends on Facebook, hoping to find their missing son. They had grown concerned because Wilson never made it home to Charlotte, N.C., from Texas for the Thanksgiving holiday. Relatives said he was studying osteopathic medicine at AOMA Graduate School of Integrated Medicine in Austin, Texas.
His tattoos helped the family identify Wilson, but they still don't know what led to his death.
Wilson last heard from his son the night before Thanksgiving, shortly before midnight. Wilson told his dad he was out of gas, and his father told him to call AAA, a roadside assistance company, and then call him back.
That was the last time he would hear his son's voice.
More than 24 hours later, around 3 a.m. Friday, he was struck by a semitrailer while walking in a lane of I-85 around 3 a.m., Gwinnett County police said.
His car was found on the side of I-985 near exit 3 several hours later on Friday. Police believe he was walking to get help when he was struck, Gwinnett County police Cpt. Jake Smith said.
Smith said police have no reason to suspect foul play. Yet relatives are searching for answers about what happened from the time he called his father to his death more than 24 hours later.
``I'm looking for closure on what happened to my son,'' his father told the Journal-Constitution. ``He was a shining light to everyone he touched.''
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/11/243960