A man’s body was found lying in the back seat of a pickup truck in the middle of a road Tuesday morning, according to Atlanta police.
The discovery was made just after 5 a.m. in the area of Metropolitan Parkway and Saint John’s Avenue in southwest Atlanta, police spokesman Lt. Pete Malecki said.
An officer on patrol was driving on Metropolitan Parkway when he came across the Dodge truck in the road, police spokesman Capt. A.B. Jackson said.
Officials said the truck appeared to be broken down. The officer prepared paperwork to impound the vehicle and then approached it, Jackson said.
“He doesn’t see anything in the vehicle, but he smells something,” Jackson said. “He opens the back door, and there’s a body on the floor of the back seat of the truck.”
Investigators have not determined when the man died, but they believe he had been deceased for at least 24 hours. The circumstances surrounding the man’s death are not clear.
“At this point, the cause of death is going to be pending a medical examination,” Malecki said. “There are no obvious signs of injury.”
Police said the truck might have been in the road since 11 p.m. Monday. Investigators are working on narrowing down a timeline of when the vehicle was abandoned, Malecki said.
“We do know it was some duration of time,” he said.
Investigators said there was evidence in the truck that led them to believe the vehicle had recently been off-roading.
“The vehicle has mud in the inside and all over it, and the man has been deceased for a minute,” Jackson said. “We are trying to figure out how the vehicle got here.”
No witnesses have come forward with information in the case. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage from cameras in the area.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Atlanta police. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
