The deaths of two men trapped inside a burning car near Sierra Vista last month have been attributed to blunt force injuries sustained when the vehicle crashed into a residential block wall, according to the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner.
Nathan J. Stover and Walter G. Skellen III died April 14 after the car Stover was driving left San Xavier Road around 11 p.m. and traveled several hundred feet through a desert area before smashing into the backyard wall of a residence. The car exploded into flames from the impact which could be heard several blocks away.
Both men died in the vehicle despite rescue efforts by the homeowner and passersby who were pushed back by the intensity of the flames. The burned vehicle, with the men’s bodies still inside, was later transported on a trailer to the medical examiner’s office in Tucson.
Among the steps undertaken by the pathologist was a whole body radiograph, or x-ray, which revealed Stover died as the result of blunt force injuries to his neck. Skellen’s cause of death was attributed to multiple blunt force injures to the chest and pelvic area, resulting in lacerations to various organs.
The radiographs also confirmed there were no foreign objects such as projectiles or bullets in the bodies, which is a routine measure in such cases. A forensic anthropologist assisted in the postmortem examination to officially confirm the men’s identification through dental records.
Stover, 40, is survived by three children. His wife Nadia, to whom Stover had been married for nearly 20 years, died only two months earlier after a sudden illness.
Skellen, 41, is survived by a wife and four children ages 4 to 17. A community-sponsored GoFundMe account is still accepting donations to help the family with funeral expenses at https://gofund.me/c1073893