Posted on 01/14/2002 4:40:28 PM PST by Mitchell
Authorities said Sunday that the November death of an internationally recognized Harvard scientist was the result of an accidental fall from the Hernando DeSoto Bridge and not a homicide.
Shelby County Medical Examiner Dr. O. C. Smith gave to police Sunday his findings in the death of Dr. Don C. Wiley, 57.
Smith said the cause of death was a fall from the bridge and the manner of death was accidental. He said the accidental death followed a minor motor vehicle accident on the bridge.
Police could announce details of the medical examiner's findings as early as today.
Authorities are expected to say that Wiley, who was at least 6-foot-3, accidentally went over the railing after getting out of the car to examine the damage to the vehicle. They said there is no evidence anyone else was involved in the death.
It has been reported that the hubcap for the right front wheel was missing and there were yellow scrape marks on the rented white four-door 2001 Mitsubishi Galant.
The car was found abandoned in one of the westbound lanes of the bridge at 4 a.m. Nov. 16. The key was in the ignition, the gas tank full.
A Memphis police officer responding to "an abandoned vehicle call" located the car. Its hazard lights were not flashing.
The officer then checked the catwalks on both sides of the bridge, but found nothing.
The officer who located Wiley's car said the vehicle wasn't there when he made a routine check of the bridge an hour earlier.
Wiley, a prize-winning biochemist, had been in Memphis for a two-day meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Wiley was last seen about midnight Nov. 15 in the lobby of The Peabody, where he had attended a banquet for the advisory board.
Investigators had been trying to determine Wiley's movements from then until his car was found.
The scientist's father, Bill Wiley of Memphis, said his son spent several days with him while he was here.
Smith said Wiley's family is aware of his findings.
Wiley lived in Cambridge, Mass., and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He was married to Katrin Valgeirsdottir.
Wiley's body was discovered Dec. 20 in the Mississippi River about 300 miles south of Memphis. The body was found snagged on a tree along the Mississippi across from Natchez. Workers with the Louisiana Hydroelectric Plant near Vidalia, La., in Concordia Parish found the body. Wiley's wallet was in his clothing.
His disappearance sparked worldwide interest. Wiley had done research on dangerous viruses, including AIDS, influenza and Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever that is highly contagious and often fatal.
Police previously had indicated Wiley might have committed suicide, but Wiley's relatives, colleagues and friends said they didn't think he would have taken his life.
January 14, 2002
The theory here could be correct, but the coroner's reasoning is not given. Here are some questions:
..."and I am the Queen of Romania," as Dorothy Parker memorably put it.
--Boris
Either one makes more sense than an accident.
I don't know anything about this particular bridge, but they are saying that he was "at least 6-3", and there was a missing right front hubcap. To me they are implying that because of his height, and that he was looking for the hubcap over the rail, he just fell in.
Many unanswered questions here, I won't hold my breath waiting for the answers.
An accidental pedestrian strike could definately push someone over the edge..
I saw one like this once..
I've not seen the catwalks on this bridge.
To me, it seems hard to believe that the person would not land on or hit the catwalk.
Broken bones? Bruises? Detailed in the autopsy?
Well, the claim is that an 18-wheeler went by and blew him off. This is possible.
He was at the Peabody? At a banquet of some kind as I recall? No doubt, he could have been imbibing. But enough to "fall" over a high side-rail of a bridge?
Would a person terrified of heights get out of his car on a tall bridge and wander close to the edge?....Would you get out of your car at night under such circumstances and leave the ignition key in your car?
Semi-trucks and cars are crossing this bridge doing 80 mph; I cannot imagine ANYONE STOPPING their car, much less getting OUT---and at NIGHT! (I am sure it happens---I just can't imagine it:-) The doc's father lives in Memphis, the piece indicates, so surely the man knew the danger that lurks in the city, in the downtown area, and you don't just STOP your car and get out at night. Any one who lives in Memphis is keenly aware of the danger and would relate that to guests. Like going to a third-world country, you tell visitors where it is and is not safe to go. It would be unconscionable not to (though of course the local paper, media and government fail to mention it and blow smoke---"Crime can happen anywhere," they say, which is a code-phrase for, "Yes, you're 1000 times more likely to get mugged or raped or killed in the city than in the burbs, but if you SAY it, then you are a racist.")
Why was Wiley headed for Arkansas?
Good question. He could easily have taken a wrong turn, imbibing or not.
As SGH asked, I wonder---broken bones? etc.? What did/will autopsy say?
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