A 76-year-old man from Waymart, Wayne County, died in a car accident Monday, state police at Frackville said.
The man, identified as Joseph G. Dills, was pronounced dead at 1:47 p.m., Deputy Coroner David Truskowsky said.
“He went across a lawn and hit a tree,” Truskowsky said, adding he was the only occupant of the vehicle.
He did not know if the man was wearing a seat belt. He also did not know the cause of the crash.
State police at Frackville said the 12:56 p.m. accident took place on Route 895 in East Brunswick Township, when Dills was driving at 2011 Honda Element east on Route 895 down a small, curved hill and failed to follow a curve. He went straight off the road for about 250 feet and drove through two lawns before hitting a tree in the front yard of 803 Summer Valley Road, police said.
He died at the scene.
Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III said a virtual autopsy was performed at the Simon Kramer Cancer Institute, New Philadelphia, at 6 p.m. Monday, but could not be performed entirely because of technical factors. Of what he could examine, Moylan said, it looked as if the man had rib fractures and a compound fracture of the right lower leg. A traditional autopsy will be performed possibly today, he said. Moylan said he could not see any injuries to the head and neck.
“Our working diagnosis is he may have had a medical event before striking the tree,” Moylan said.
He said the man had heart surgery previously, which was discovered after talking to relatives and looking at his body.
Along with Truskowsky, state police, Schuylkill EMS, the Orwigsburg Fire Department and New Ringgold Fire Department responded to the scene.