Dead for hours, Pilsen road driver drowned
Staff writer
A 64-year-old Wichita man drowned face down in two feet of water last week after his pickup ran off Remington Rd. south of 230th Rd. and became partially submerged upside down in a creek.
When Robert B. Gustafson’s truck was reported by a passing Marion County road and bridge employee, he likely had been dead for several hours.
The sheriff’s office was contacted at 9:50 a.m., and the death was announced at 11:05 a.m.
According to a coroner’s report, Gustafson had no meaningful amount of alcohol in his blood.
The man’s mother told police her son did not drink but had a history of using methamphetamine.
The coroner’s report said no witnesses to the accident had been found, so the time of the accident is not known. However, rigor mortis, which often takes several hours to set in, was pronounced.
The truck was upside down in a creek that runs immediatley along the west side of the road.
The vehicle skidded off the road, into a ditch, striking several small trees and flipping end to end, landing inverted into the water.
First responders confirmed there was only one victim, who was face down in the water with his torso in the back seat area and his head extending out where a rear window had been.
According to the coroner report, the left front wheel of the vehicle had been driven on its rim, showing significant damage.
Law enforcement officers traced the skid marks 2.2 miles from where the tire had failed.
Remington Rd., the primary way to Pilsen from Marion, had been recently repaved
Sheriff Jeff Soyez said the condition of the pavement likely did not play a role in the accident, but added the case was still pending.
Gustafson’s body was found to be in full rigor with arms flexed in front of the body and legs in a partially flexed position.
Gustafson’s mother and aunt were looking for him before they learned about the crash.
The coroner reported the cause of death was drowning after the accident.
According to the coroner’s report, no other injuries were noted and no autopsy was done.