Key West The Newspaper

A Marathon man died in a crash this afternoon in Marathon.

The man, whose name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was found in his truck by some first responders who were patrolling during lulls in the storm. His truck was wrapped around a tree near 98th Street and U.S. One. He was dead inside.

They reported finding the crash scene to the Sheriff’s Office. Although Sheriff Rick Ramsay has pulled regular patrols because he does not want to endanger his employees, he evaluated the conditions outside and decided he would lead a team himself to recover the body.

“I just felt we needed to try. We did not want to leave this man’s body out there and I saw a lull in the storm that would allow us to go out there and get it safely,” said Sheriff Ramsay.

The Sheriff’s Office was able to find a tow truck which quickly removed the truck and body for safe keeping. The Florida Highway Patrol will investigate the case when it is safe to do so. It is unknown at this time if the crash was weather related or not.