The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of Justin Derecskey, 37, of House Springs, who died Thursday morning (Oct. 18), after a car fell on him while he was underneath it. The car fell on him at about 5:20 a.m. on Head’s Creek Road near Ruth Drive in House Springs, where it looked like the car previously had been abandoned, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
“The car was by the edge of the road, in a graveled area where two roads merged,” Capt. Gary Higginbotham said.
At 5:21 a.m., Derecskey called 911 and said he was trapped under the car, a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt, and could not breathe, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Deputies and firefighters arrived on the scene at 5:31 a.m. and found Derecskey there, with his head and torso trapped under the car. Firefighters used a hydraulic lift to raise the car, and “life-saving measures were attempted.” However, Derecskey could not be revived, the report said.
Two vehicle jacks were found near the car – one underneath it and the other near the front passenger tire, according to the report.
“The car had been jacked up, and it (the jack) appeared to have tipped over on him,” Higginbotham said.”
He said Derecskey did not own the vehicle and allegedly did not have permission to be tampering with it.
Higginbotham also said it appeared someone had been trying to remove the car’s catalytic converter, and a reciprocating saw was found stuck in a pipe that’s part of the converter.
Sheriff’s Office investigators are trying “to determine (Derecskey’s) purpose for being at the vehicle,” the report said.