Belmont County Coroner Investigates Mysterious Death of Man Found Along I-70
BRIDGEPORT — Law enforcement and the Belmont County Coroner’s office are working to learn the cause of death of a man who ran from the scene of an accident on Interstate 70 near Bridgeport on Sunday.
Chuck Warren Dickens Jr., 26, of Huber Heights, Ohio, which is a suburb of Dayton, was found dead in a drainage pipe located beneath the interstate.
He was seen running away from a minor two-vehicle accident about 11 a.m. Sunday.
OSP troopers and other law enforcement responded and searched the area for Dickens, who was found hiding inside the pipe. However, he refused to come out. After the man quit responding to the officers, a robot with a video camera was sent into the pipe and found the man face down in the water, said OSP Lt. James Faunda.
Firefighters with the Cumberland Trail Fire District and Wheeling Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team recovered Dicken’s body from the pipe.
Faunda said other than being involved in the accident, there are no clues as to why Dickens ran from the scene and hid in the pipe.
“The family does not know why he was here. He was supposed to be in Cleveland for the weekend,” Faunda said. “He was a college graduate and he had no criminal history. He only had a simple traffic offense.”
Faunda said in addition to the autopsy a standard intoxication screen also would be conducted.
Faunda noted that Dickens was found dead about 5:30 p.m. and the incident began about 11 a.m. That means he was in the cold and water for several hours.
“It seems hypothermia might have played a role” in his death, Faunda added.
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