(Breaking news) Body found in burning truck

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Authorities discovered a body inside a burning truck in Waldorf last night, but sheriff's officers aren't sure how the person died or how the pickup caught fire, according to police.

Someone called emergency personnel at about 8:13 p.m. to report a truck on fire on Forgotten Farm Place, said Diane Richardson, spokeswoman for the Charles County Sheriff's Office. When firefighters extinguished the blaze, they found the body in the driver's seat of the 2001 Ford Ranger, Richardson said.

Investigators have tentatively identified the body, but are waiting for confirmation from autopsy results to release the information. The person was too badly burned to definitively determine gender, Richardson said.

The autopsy at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore will try to determine the cause and manner of death for the person, according to Richardson.

Authorities are still examining the Ford to discover how the fire started, according to Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph Zurolo.

Police are conducting a death investigation into the incident.

brodgers@somdnews.com