The first clue to the identity of the man struck and killed on Route 15 on Sunday was his key chain.

"The only possession he had in his pocket was a key chain, and it had two of those club card, bonus cards on it," state police Cpl. Matthew Nickey said.

From there, the police and the Adams County coroner backtracked details and were able to determine the man's name was Andres Vidal. The 29-year-old had no fixed address, but he did have family in North Carolina, Coroner Pat Felix said.

Police in Linwood, N.C., contacted the family, who had already heard about Vidal's death from a family friend, Felix said.

It's still unknown exactly why Vidal was walking across both lanes of the highway in Latimore Township, north of York Springs, at 3 a.m. He was hit by a 1993 Pontiac Grand Am, driven by a Steelton man, who was northbound.

Vidal's death was caused by blunt-force trauma to the head, Felix said. No autopsy will be done.

Family said Vidal was staying with a friend in the York Springs area while looking for work, Felix said.

Identifying him and notifying his next of kin required a bit of sleuthing, Nickey said.

Using the shoppers-club cards -- one from Arizona, one from North Carolina -- on Vidal's key chain, they were able to figure out a name, Nickey said.

"That gave us some info. It might not necessarily have been him," he said. "It could have been his brother or whatever. But it gave us a name."

After that, the police ran the name through a criminal

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database and discovered that a person with that name had run-ins with the law -- and had his mugshot and fingerprints taken. The photograph looked much like Vidal, but the fingerprints confirmed his identity, Nickey said.

A short time later, police found a car belonging to Vidal and found that the registration gave an address in North Carolina.

"Sometimes, it's complicated," Felix said. "But we usually get them identified."