Police: Man lay in road, hit twice

~ There were no injuries on the body that would indicate foul play, police said.

A car and a pickup in rapid succession Monday evening ran over a man lying in westbound lane of Nash Road about one-half mile west of Interstate 55.

The man was dead when emergency workers arrived at the scene.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol was investigating why the man, who worked for a nearby business, lay motionless in the road when the vehicles struck him.

Patrol Sgt. Cody Fulkerson declined at the scene to release the man's name or where he worked pending notification of family.

"Why he was in the road, we don't know," Fulkerson said. The patrol's Major Crash Investigation team checked the scene and found no indication the man had been struck by a vehicle while standing, he said.

The stretch of Nash Road where the man was struck is an unlit area lined with businesses near the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Sheilah Enderle of Chaffee was driving alone in her Honda Accord when she ran over the man, Fulkerson said.

Michael Johnson, also of Chaffee and also driving alone, came along behind Enderle in his Nissan B2600 pickup. He was unable to stop before he, too, ran over the man.

The man was struck at approximately 7 p.m., Fulkerson said. He had left work at about 4:45 p.m., then returned briefly at about 6:20 p.m.

Investigators will have to question the man's boss and family about why he returned to work and why he left so quickly when he did return, Fulkerson said.

The man was wearing dark clothes, making him difficult to see when Enderle approached him. She stopped immediately after striking the man, Fulkerson said, and called emergency workers.

The body was dragged about 30 feet down the pavement by the two vehicles, he said. After the body was removed, there was a small pool of blood near where the head lay and a smashed bag of sunflower seeds on the pavement.

Signs that a person was standing when struck by a car are scuffed shoes, clothing that is torn or twisted on the body and injuries to the leg or lower torso. There were none of those indicators, Fulkerson said.

"We need to talk to the people who knew him and the people who saw him last," Fulkerson said.

An autopsy will be performed, Fulkerson said. The toxicology tests and other tests may give an indication of what happened, he said.

There were no injuries on the body that would indicate foul play, Fulkerson said.