DEATH IN DARBY
COPS INVESTIGATE AFTER MAN IN CAR NEAR SCHOOL DIES
A school bus approaches the intersection of Summit Street and Greenway Avenue near Penn Wood Middle School Tuesday afternoon. School was closed for the day after a man was discovered in a parked vehicle nearby and he died soon thereafter.
DARBY BOROUGH » An autopsy by the Delaware County Medical Examiner was not able to provide enough information to determine the cause and manner of death for a 58-year-old man who was found in car on Summit Avenue and pronounced dead at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital a short time later, authorities said. A joint investigation by Darby Borough police and the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s office is continuing. While the identity of the man is being withheld by authorities pending notification of relatives, Darby Borough Police Chief Robert Smythe said the man is known to frequent but does not reside in the borough.
“He is looking for more information from us and we are trying to get that for him,” Smythe said, referring to Delaware County Medical Examiner Dr. Fredric N. Hellman. “A this point, we are handling it as a homicide, but that depends on the final ruling of the medical examiner.”
According to Smythe, investigators have obtained video which shows a second individual was in or around the vehicle, and is then seen running away.
“Something happened. There was some type of an altercation but we don’t know what,” Smythe said.
According to the Medical Examiner’s office, the cause and manner of death is “pending further studies,” which routinely includes toxicology. In this case, it also includes the victim’s medical records and further police investigation, according to a source.
The incident led to the closure of Penn Wood Middle School, which is located near where the man was found about 4 a.m. Tuesday. At no time were students in any danger, according to Smythe.
“This was a secured crime scene … We had asked for a two-hour delay, but I guess to put everyone at ease, they closed for the day,” he said.