Wayne County Sheriff Travis Hutchinson reports that his office is investigating the death of a 47 year old West Salem man.
A vehicle fire was reported to the Sheriffs Office at 9:45pm February 8th. The fire was reported to be on property located at 7839 Ruff Rd. West Salem. The persons reporting the fire stated that they believed that a man was still inside of the vehicle at the time the 911 call was made.
Upon receiving the call, the Town and County fire department responded to the fire that had totally consumed the vehicle. The fire was extinguished and the firefighters discovered the victim inside of the vehicle deceased.
The victim was identified as Scott E. Hinerman age 47 of 26 Par Ave. West Salem Ohio.
Deputies on the scene conducted interviews with witnesses who reported that prior to the incident the victim appeared to be both upset and intoxicated. The investigation into the incident shows that the victim was operating a vehicle and struck a tree and a fence prior to getting the vehicle stuck in deep snow. Prior to the vehicle catching fire, witnesses on the scene report that the victim had been aggressively rocking the vehicle (using the accelerator) in an attempt to dislodge it.
In addition to the Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio Fire Marshall’s office and Wayne County Coroner are assisting in this ongoing investigation.
