By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – An autopsy performed on a man found lying in the middle of a LaPlace street Sunday morning showed the man may have been a victim of a hit and run automobile accident.

Joseph C. McGee, 46, of Reserve was discovered by St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff’s deputies just after 5 a.m. Sunday lying in the middle of the 400 block of Elm Street near Airline Highway with a head injury. McGee was transported to River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace, where he later died of his injuries.

Capt. Dane Clement, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said an autopsy performed by the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office Monday showed that McGee’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the chest, which caused broken ribs and internal bleeding. He said the head injury was shown to be superficial.

Clement said the injuries are consistent with being struck by a vehicle. Since the incident took place on a state road, Louisiana State Police Troop B has taken a lead role in the investigation. Evidence at the scene was limited, and there are no known witnesses to the accident.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call State Police investigators at 504-471-2775.