A farm building painter died in an unusual accident in northwest Jasper County on Wednesday afternoon. Jasper County Sheriff Mike Balmer identifies the victim as 48-year-old Thadius Brown. Brown was found face-down on a gravel road, with his truck burning nearby in a ditch.

“It appears that the truck caught fire going down the road and that the driver may’ve jumped out of the vehicle while it was still moving, he may’ve been run over by his own truck,” he says. “The investigation is still continuing and we’re waiting on the results of the autopsy from the state medical examiner.”

Brown, who was from Greenwood, Louisiana, was pronounced dead at the scene. He worked for Bill Riley Farm Painting. Sheriff Balmer says Riley was the person who reported the accident. Riley was leading Brown in a separate vehicle and noticed Brown was no longer behind him, so Riley turned around, came over a hill and found Brown’s body in the middle of the road with the paint truck burning nearby. The two men were on their way to a job.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Balmer believes an explosion may have prompted Brown to jump out of the truck.

He says it’s possible a gas can or something else exploded and made Brown panic and jump. The accident happened around at 2 P.M.

By Randy Van, KCOB, Newton