NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — He was killed doing what he loved.
John Carroll Caillouette Jr., a New Braunfels native, moved back home less than a year ago to be closer to family. On Sunday, December 10, he was leaving a friend's house on his bike when a car hit him and left him to die.
Caillouette's family told us he was hit from behind while riding his bike. To help solve this hit-and-run case, the Texas Department of Public Safety is calling on one group in particular to remain vigilant, asking all body shop owners and employees to keep a close eye on vehicles that come in. Front-end damage, authorities believe, could lead to the suspects.
"This was supposed to be our time to be able to reconnect and have that opportunity. This person took it away," said Caillouette's niece, who wished to withhold her name.
She says her uncle, who was 52, was known as a free spirit.
"He has just wanted to explore the world... and he loved the outdoors. So he just took it on the road."
Caillouette's niece says he just moved home from New York. He worked at a bike shop in Brooklyn while gaining experience in bicycle design. His job took him to places like Germany and Japan to learn from designers there.
"He traveled the world doing cyclists stuff, doing different competitions and races."
John's obituary states he especially loved helping children of all abilities, even helping build a playground area in Brooklyn.
Driven by a creative mind, family members say John was renovating a school bus into an RV.
"He packed up all his stuff and that's how he drove down here: in a school bus."
But on Sunday, while riding his bike down Wegner Road near Lost Trail in Comal County, John was hit and later found by another driver.
"It's off Purgatory Road," said John's niece. "It's more of like your country-roads-type thing. It's not very well-lit. He had lights all over his bike. He had a light on his helmet. He did everything he could to stay safe."
A cross now sits at the spot where John died. A Christmas wreath and an angel adorn it in his memory.
Relatives urge those responsible to have a heart and come forward.
"What kind of human leaves another human on the side of the road? It's unfathomable," said John's niece. "Let my grandmother have the closure that she needs, because no mother should have to bury their child."
Family members started a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses. If you have any information on this case, call the Comal County Sheriff's Office at (830) 620-3400.
>MORE LOCAL NEWS:
>TRENDING ON KENS 5 YOUTUBE: