By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — A Port Clinton semi-truck driver suffered a fatal heart attack behind the wheel of his rig, prompting a crash Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 90 in Kingsville Township, according to James Baehr, Ashtabula County Coroner’s Office investigator.
Preliminary autopsy results show Joe Shelton Jr., 51, suffered from heart disease, which contributed to a “cardiac event,” Baehr said Wednesday.
The truck was traveling east on I-90 around 4:30 p.m. when Shelton apparently was stricken, officials said. The truck careened off the freeway, cutting through the median strip before coming to rest down an embankment on the north side of I-90, according to reports. The incident occurred around a half-mile west of Route 193, firefighters said. Shelton was the only occupant of the truck, and no other vehicles were involved, Baehr said.
Firefighters and rescue personnel from a handful of fire departments were dispatched to the scene. Shelton was unresponsive at the scene and was taken to Ashtabula County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Baehr said.
The autopsy was conducted at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, Baehr said. A final ruling will await results of toxicology tests, expected in a few weeks, he said.
