Victim Identified in Deadly Car Fire, Death Ruled Accidental
JACKSON, Tenn. — Willie Floyd. Sr., 78, was identified by the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Nashville as the victim in Monday’s death investigation. An autopsy revealed no unexplained, suspicious injuries on his body. At 5:34 p.m. Monday, the Jackson Fire Department was called about a brush fire off the dead end of Ash Street. Firefighters responded and found a car in a field and fully engulfed in flames. The fire was put out and Floyd’s body was discovered just outside the car. The body was burnt beyond recognition. Jackson police and an assistant county medical examiner responded to the scene. The body was transported to the ME’s Office in Nashville for identification and cause of death. The investigation into the fire showed that Floyd’s 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix traveled into a dried vegetation area in excess of six feet tall. The car was high-center on the crest of a ditch length-ways of the car. The car had driven through the field of high vegetation until it came to rest on the ridge of a ditch. The car was tilted at about a 20 degree angle with the passenger side on the down-hill side. The body was in a ditch down-hill of the car. After further investigation of the scene and the car at the impound lot, the cause of the fire was the conduction of heat given off by the car’s own components of its underside. This conduction heated the surrounding vegetation to a point as to cause the vegetation to obtain its autoignition temperature. Once the vegetation started burning a chain of events caused the car to burn completely. The ditch, where the body was located, had a large amount of gasoline residue in it, and this is due to the car’s gas tank melting and fuel draining down into the ditch. The fire was ruled accidental in cause and origin. Investigators also observed exploded aerosol cans inside the burned car and all four tires were flat. This could explain the popping noises and explosions heard by witnesses during the fire. Investigators further learned that Floyd had just been treated and left a medical clinic in Jackson at 5 p.m. He left the clinic driving, and his home was the likely destination. Floyd lived on Craig Street, which intersects with the east dead of Ash Street. Floyd’s car was found in a field off the west dead end of Ash Street. After speaking with Floyd’s family about his driving capability, investigators believe that he may have become disoriented while driving. The investigation has concluded that the cause and manner of death was accidental.
