Investigator: Lisbon man crashed car following heart attack behind the wheel

MORRISTOWN — A Lisbon man who died in a one-car accident Thursday morning suffered a heart attack behind the wheel, according to a state police investigator.

Investigator Peter T. Kraengle with the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation said an autopsy conducted Friday at Alice Hyde Medical Center, Malone, by Dr. Leonardo Dishman ruled that Jay Osterhout, 38, died of cardiac arrest.

"It appears he was deceased prior to the motor vehicle accident," Mr. Kraengle said. "There was no evidence of him even attempting to apply the brakes."

State police said Mr. Osterhout was driving west on Route 37 when his vehicle exited the north shoulder of the road, striking a wire fence and becoming airborne after hitting a rock pile.

Mr. Osterhout was unconscious and had no pulse when he was taken to Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Ogdensburg, where he was pronounced dead, troopers said.