BEE COUNTY, Texas — A special seat stands empty inside the No Name Cantina in Beeville, reserved in memory of Army veteran Tim Raska, the owner who died in a motorcycle accident last month.
Raska was killed on North Padre Island Drive near Bear Lane in what his family describes as a hit-and-run incident.
"It's really hard. It's really hard on the kids. It's hard on me. It's hard on his parents to not have answers and not to know why somebody left him on the side of the road to die," said Lillian Raska, Tim's wife.
After serving in the Army, opening the No Name Cantina was Tim Raska's dream. His widow says the establishment became a safe haven for many in the community.
"He would introduce himself and shake their hand and welcome them, and they left with a feeling of acceptance," Lillian said.
Tim was well-loved in the community and among members of his motorcycle club, according to his family.
"He was anything and everything to anybody. It didn't matter who they were. He's just a very kind, caring soul," Lillian said.
Tim's daughter, 11-year-old Sadie Raska, has struggled with sleepless nights since losing her father.
"I'm still waiting for him. I just feel like he's going to walk through the door with a lame excuse on why he was gone for so long," Sadie said.
The family is pleading for community help to discover what led to Tim's death.
"From the start we were never informed about his death. I had to reach out to our club members to find him," Lillian said.
The Corpus Christi Police Department confirms this remains an ongoing investigation.
"We need to know why, I mean he laid there dying. This wasn't right, it wasn't his time," Lillian said.
***This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.***
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