Bonners Ferry man may have died before crash

It’s believed that a Bonners Ferry man may have passed away before losing control of the van he was driving at 5 a.m. Tuesday south of town.

Kenneth Thornbrugh, 62, was found dead in his van, which came to rest against a snow bank at Brown Creek and Pleasant Valley roads, said Boundary County Sheriff Chief Deputy Rich Stephens.

“The best I can gather was he was having a medical problem and passed away behind the wheel,” Stephens said. “A deputy showed up within a few minutes (after getting a call about the accident) and found no pulse and no respiration.”

Thornbrugh, who according to family typically leaves home at 2:30 a.m. to deliver

 newspapers, was eastbound on Brown Creek Road, according to Dustin Kralik, senior trooper with Idaho State Police. His van left the roadway and went up onto an embankment.

Thornbrugh’s van then returned to the roadway, where it stopped, Kralik said.

A passerby came across the vehicle and reported it, Stephens said.

“He didn’t run into anything and his vehicle didn’t impact any object,” he said.

There was no damage to the vehicle and no sign of injury to Thornbrugh, Stephens said.

The investigation is continuing, Kralik said.