A man from Austin died after being hit by a drunk driver in Round Rock on Sunday.
The Round Rock Police Department responded to the auto-pedestrian collision on the northbound I-35 frontage road near Old Settlers Boulevard just before 2:30 a.m.
First responders performed life-saving efforts to the pedestrian, who was identified as 27-year-old Marlon Zelaya Orellana. Orellana died at the scene.
"He was the life of the party you know, he’d make everyone laugh, a nice person, you never saw him fighting," said his cousin, Kayla Rivas.
Rivas said she was with Orellana the night of the accident. He had just turned 27 the day before, and the family was celebrating his birthday. Rivas says Orellana left around 12:40 a.m. and began walking home, though he did not tell anyone he was leaving.
"We went to go look for him. We went a couple of times around the block and everywhere and didn't see anything," said Rivas,
"We started worrying because usually he was home by that time, if he ever walked home like he made it home all the time."
The driver of the vehicle was identified as 19-year-old Michael Lineberry of Michigan. He was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
"We have Uber and Lyft all these days like, come on. No drinking and driving. That's the main issue here," said Rivas.
The family says they are preparing funeral arrangements.
"It was really hard because you can never imagine talking to someone and not seeing them the next day," said Rivas.
The investigation is ongoing.