Clark County deputies seek answers after man found dead on bridge

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office continues to search for answers after a body was found on a Springfield-area bridge early Friday morning.

An individual driving on North Bird Road around 4:30 a.m. Friday observed a person laying in the northbound lane on the bridge over the creek between U.S. 40 and Old Columbus Road, according to call records.

“[The body’s] laying on the side of the road, and there’s blood,” the caller said. “It’s dark and we’re kind of freaked out. It looks like somebody may have dumped it… it’s mangled up.”

Crews arrived on scene and found the victim, later identified as Jason Cromlish, deceased, according to sheriff ’s Lt. Kristopher Shultz.

A woman called dispatchers Friday morning to say her friend, Cromlish, left on foot around 3:30 a.m. from a house in the Garden Acres area in Springfield after drinking and that she had not heard from him since. She said he left without his phone or wallet, according to dispatch center call logs.

Sheriff ’s Detective Brian Melchi said Cromlish was last seen wearing blue jeans and possibly a light-colored sweatshirt.

The man was found to have extensive physical injuries “consistent with having been struck or caught and dragged by a motor vehicle,” according to the sher

iff ’s office.

“We’re investigating all possibilities and all aspects — as both a traffic and a criminal act, because we do not know what the motive of this was. It could be an accident,” Shultz said on Saturday. “It could have been an intentional act. We’re not sure, so we’re investigating all aspects and attempting to first identify the vehicle and the driver who struck this individual.”

No vehicle parts were found at the scene, according to call logs.

The death is being investigated as both a traffic accident and criminal investigation, Melchi said Monday.

The sheriff ’s office encourages anyone with information about the case to call 937-521-2068.