Crash in North Austin turns into homicide investigation: New details

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department has revealed the identity of the victim and more details about a crash on I-35 that turned into a homicide investigation.

The backstory:

On March 16, at around 3:36 a.m., Austin 9-1-1 received multiple calls about a stalled Mitsubishi Mirage in the far left lane in the 11600 block of I-35 northbound.

The call was upgraded to a crash call after the Mirage was struck by a Ford Bronco.

The person in the Mirage was identified as 47-year-oild Edward Espino.

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First responders got Espino out of the Mirage and attempted first aid on him. That's when they discovered Espino had been shot.

Espino was pronounced dead at the scene at around 4:14 a.m.

The driver of the Bronco cooperated with the investigation and is not believed to be connected to Espino's death.

Dig deeper:

Homicide detectives and crime scene specialists responded to process the scene and interview witnesses. 

The initial investigation showed that Espino was in his Mirage and driving northbound on I-35 where his vehicle came to a stop in the far left lane of north I-35 before being struck from behind by the Bronco. 

The shooting suspects have not yet been identified.

"We believe road rage is involved," Det. Chris Anderson with APD said. 

On Tuesday afternoon, detectives shut down the area on I-35 for several hours looking for evidence. 

Family remembers Edward Espino

What they're saying:

"From him being so small, he was a showstopper," his sister, Jessica Munoz, said. 

Espino grew up in Corpus Christi and lived in many different places in his life. He served in the military and lived in New York for some time. He moved to Austin about a year ago. 

"Out of all the places that he moved, he said that he had finally found his home here. That's what makes it hard because he was happy," Munoz said. 

Munoz says her brother was a big part of the LGBTQ community.

"He was in a choir here in Austin. He really enjoyed being in it and singing. He loved doing karaoke. He was a performer," she said. 

Espino also did comedy and theater. His friends describe his love of life. 

"He is absolutely one of the most amazing people you'll ever meet. He had a brightness about him that he could just become instantly your friend," his friend Cynde Wymore said. 

"When Eddie would enter a room, everybody would just kind of gravitate towards him," his friend Celeste Torres said. "He made you feel like you were important. He made you feel like you were special. But really, he was special."

His loved ones want to know who took his life. 

"We need to know the answers to it as quickly as possible because it's just not right. Whatever it is that happened to him is not right," Wymore said.

"He didn't deserve to have his life stolen. We want closure, we deserve it. He didn't deserve to leave life alone. So many people loved him," Munoz said.

"He was a really big part of this community, and his loss is going to be felt for a very long time," Torres said. 

What you can do:

Detectives are encouraging anyone who may have been in the area and heard possible shots fired, anyone who may have seen the Mirage driving, or anyone who may have seen vehicles that appeared to be in an altercation to come forward, so detectives can further investigate. 

If anyone has additional photos, videos, or potential evidence, please submit them by clicking here.

Anyone with information should contact the Austin Police Department at 512-974-TIPS. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477. 

A reward of up to $1,000 may be available for any information that leads to an arrest.

North AustinCrime and Public Safety