The Decatur County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call around 4:15 Thursday morning about a body on Highway 84.

Louis Kirsteatter, Jr., 58, was found dead on the side of the westbound highway when officers arrived on the scene.

DCSO Investigator Terry Phillips said a trucker hauling wood chips to Cedar Springs came across what appeared to be a pile of clothing in the road around 3:30 a.m. Unable to move out of the way in time, the driver hit the pile. When he found blood and flesh on his vehicle, he returned to Decatur County to help with the investigation.

Another truck driver called in shortly after Kirsteatter was hit to report what appeared to be a body on the side of the road. When Phillips arrived on the scene, he said he didn’t recognize the body as human.

Phillips is investigating how Kirsteatter got in the highway and whether he was struck before the truck driver hit him.

“Either this guy is down when this trucker came over him, or he was hit by another vehicle,” Phillips said.

Further investigation has revealed Kirsteatter crashed his car on Broad Street Thursday morning. Phillips also found a receipt for a purchase of a drink and cigarettes at the Kangaroo Express on Tallahassee Highway around 1 a.m.

Kirsteatter is from Bloomington, Illinois, and has a history of wandering away from home, Phillips said. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, Kirsteatter lived alone in an apartment in Bainbridge.

Phillips said no traces of alcohol were found in Kirseatter or the truck driver.