Fairfield Man Found Dead After Crash, but Death Due to Natural Causes

A Fairfield man has been found dead after a crash near Edgewood, but the crash did not cause the man's death.

Effingham County Coroner Duane Guffey Friday said his office was called to HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham at 12:15pm Thursday regarding a death. The man has been identified as 61-year-old Robert Vaughn of Fairfield.

The Marion County Sheriff's Department reported that Vaughn's vehicle ran off southbound I-57, two miles south of Edgewood at approximately 11:50am. The vehicle crossed the median and the northbound lanes, and ended up striking a tree.

Authorities at the hospital determined that Vaughn had died due to a cardiac event, and not from injuries sustained in the crash.

The Marion County Sheriff's Department and the Effingham County Coroner's Office are continuing their investigation. Effingham City-County Ambulance Service, Farina Ambulance and the Farina Fire Department assisted at the scene.