Report: Victim not standing when struck [MORE]
IRONTON -- Preliminary autopsy results from an examination of the body of Guy Cameron Thomas, whose body was recovered from beneath an Ironton Police Department cruiser Saturday night, indicate he was not standing or kneeling at the point of impact with the police car.
Members of Thomas' family, as well as others in the area, say they most want to know why the police cruiser traveled roughly 10 blocks with his body underneath before the officer driving the vehicle noticed there was a problem.
An independent investigation by officers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol also concluded Thomas "must have been down on the roadway" at the time.
Lawrence County Coroner Dr. Burton Payne said more extensive tests must be completed before conclusive statements can be made regarding the death and clarified preliminary tests have not shown Thomas suffered a seizure prior to the incident.
"There is nothing definitive to suggest a seizure," Payne said, explaining that possibility was based upon family reports that Thomas took prescription anti-seizure medications.
At this point, the coroner said all test results are "inconclusive" and "no precise cause of death" has been determined.
"The pathologist said he did not find any injuries consistent with impact, which suggests he was not walking at the time," Payne said Wednesday afternoon. "He did have some abrasions on one side and burns possibly from the exhaust or the motor which have been determined to be post-mortem."
Payne said complete autopsy results, including tissue examination, could be released in as little as a week or as long as five to six weeks.
A report filed by officers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol said they were asked to conduct a physical investigation of the vehicle involved in the incident and determined "there was no visible damage" to the patrol car.
"We found the dirt on the sides and rear of the vehicle didn't appear to be disturbed. It was also found that the snow, ice and dirt on the front of the cruiser was not disturbed," the report stated. "We located a small, blue fiber attached to the under side of the push bumper, attached to the front bumper. The small, blue fiber was attached to the right side of the push bumper."
After comparing observations, the three officers "concurred the pedestrian must have been down on the roadway and not standing or in a kneeling position when struck."
The officer driving the car, Patrolman Richard Fouts, 27, has been placed on paid, administrative leave pending results of investigations by the state police as well as the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Ironton Police Chief James Carey has described Fouts' reaction to the incident as "shocked and devastated." The patrolman has been working in Ironton for the last two months and lives in the same neighborhood as Thomas did.
Funeral arrangements for Thomas, a 1980 graduate of Ironton High School and a U.S. Navy veteran, are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Phillips Funeral Home in Ironton.
Members of Thomas' family declined comment Wednesday, saying only "Pray for us."
Susan Taylor, an Ironton resident who grew up with the 1980 Ironton High School graduate, said Thomas did have epilepsy and was taking medication for the condition which could, under some conditions, cause death.
Taylor said Tuesday she's concerned about a cover-up. Even if Thomas had suffered a seizure, she said, it doesn't explain how his body could get under an Ironton police cruiser and be dragged nearly a mile on snow- and ice-covered streets to near the Ironton police station Saturday night.
Deotis Conwell, second vice president of the local branch of the NAACP, said the organization is monitoring the investigation by authorities.
"We'll see what the (BCI) investigation shows," Conwell said Tuesday. "We are investigating this. Nobody is above the law." A candlelight vigil was held for Thomas, a Navy veteran, Monday as the black community in Ironton works to come to terms with the accident.[MORE]