This combo made with undated photos made available by the Miami-Dade Police Dept. shows Rudy Eugene, 31, left, who police shot and killed as he ate the face of Ronald Poppo, 65, Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20120612/face-chewing-victim-awakMIAMI (AP) -- A homeless man whose face was mostly chewed off in a bizarre attack along a busy Miami street is now "awake and alert," according to doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center.
A photograph shown to reporters Tuesday portrayed Ronald Poppo walking down a hospital hallway, supported by hospital staff on either side of him.
Doctors were planning to talk more about his condition at a Tuesday news conference.
The photo showed the upper two-thirds of Poppo's face covered in scabs. He's missing his nose and both eye sockets were covered, one with gauze and one with what appeared to be a skin graft. His gray beard was trimmed, leaving a mustache over his upper lip.
Poppo has been at Jackson Memorial Hospital since he was attacked May 26 by Rudy Eugene. Emergency callers reported seeing a naked man swinging naked from a light pole on Miami's MacArthur Causeway a few minutes before the attack.
Surveillance video from a nearby building shows Eugene stripping Poppo and pummeling him before appearing to lie on top of him.
A police officer shot and killed Eugene. Autopsy results are still pending.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
