Police: Pedestrian identified after man drove to Austin bar with his ‘mangled corpse’ in the car

Victim’s body went through windshield and ended up in passenger seat

Paul Joseph Garcia (KSAT)

AUSTIN, Texas – Lee Martin Cagle, 55, has been identified by Austin police as the victim of a deadly collision in Austin in February.

Paul Joseph Garcia, 24, is charged with intoxication manslaughter, an accident involving injury and a traffic offense after he allegedly drove a mile and a half to South Austin Beer Garden after hitting Cagle with his 2014 Ford Focus, according to KVUE.

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Cagle’s body, which went through the windshield and ended up in the passenger seat, “had extreme, traumatic head injuries and some body extremities detached and left in the roadway and inside the vehicle,” KVUE reported.

According to Austin police, Garcia drove with the “mangled corpse” in his car for roughly half a mile after striking Cagle, who was pushing a shopping cart near Slaughter Lane in Austin.

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Witnesses at the scene told Austin police “they saw a car hit a person who was on foot and then keep driving to a beer garden,” CBS DFW confirmed.

KVUE also reported that witnesses told police Garcia was barefoot and “calmly walked” from this car into the beer garden after the incident.

The affidavit said Garcia had blood on him that matched the blood found inside the car.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) is investigating the source of alcohol served to Garcia prior to the incident, according to KVUE.

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KSAT has reached out to the Travis County District Clerk for more information.