A driver in a crash who had to be revived due to a suspected drug overdose was found dead the next morning near a pond in his subdivision.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into the death of Center Grove area resident Corey B. Hillis, 23, but do not suspect foul play, sheriff’s office investigations commander Maj. Bob Sexton said.
Hillis was found deceased Friday morning lying near a pond in the Willow Lakes subdivision, where he lives, according to the sheriff’s office. A passer-by discovered him about 8:30 a.m. in the neighborhood off of Stones Crossing Road.
The sheriff’s office is conducting a death investigation, but no evidence suggests any foul play, Sexton said. Investigators will be waiting for the results of toxicology reports, which can take several weeks.
Hillis was in an accident on Thursday evening on State Road 37 at Fairview Road. He was driving a flatbed truck south and was swerving, crossed the turn lane and grass median, hit a barrier, came back onto the road and hit a vehicle, witnesses told the sheriff’s deputy. The vehicle that was hit then hit another vehicle, the sheriff’s office report said.
Hillis was unconscious, his face and lips were turning blue and his breathing was faint, the report said. A deputy administered Narcan, which is used to treat a drug overdose, the report said. Hillis told the sheriff’s deputy that he did not know what had happened. He was taken to Community Hospital South.
The report said he was a habitual traffic violator and did not have a driver’s license.
The accident happened just after 6 p.m. Thursday.
Sheriff’s office investigators are investigating Hillis’ whereabouts after being taken to the hospital and said he had been seen late Thursday night, Sexton said. He still had the hospital wristband when he was found.
