Coroner's jury rules six deaths accidental

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PRINCETON — Six deaths across the county ranging back to July 5 were ruled accidental by a Bureau County Coroner’s Jury Wednesday.

• Louise Tharp, 77, of Neponset, was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. July 19.

Coroner Janice Wamhoff testified she spoke with Ron Miller, who found Tharp dead in her yard next to a mud hole. Wamhoff said it appeared Tharp was trying to rescue a calf that was stuck in the mud when she fell off her riding lawn mower. The cause of death was blunt trauma to the chest.

The jury ruled the death accidental.

• Dusten Maves, 30, of Dover Township died on July 24, following a two-vehicle collision on Route 6, just east of Interstate 180.

Brett Taylor of the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department, testifying on behalf of Officer Jim Reed, said Maves’ vehicle crossed into the path of a semi and was struck on the driver’s side.

Wamhoff said she pronounced Maves dead in the ambulance at 8:15 a.m., and the cause of death was massive trauma to the head and chest. Wamhoff said the toxicology test was negative, and Maves’ mother said her son was working back-to-back shifts.

The jury ruled the death accidental.

• Timothy Quarles, 47, of Neponset was pronounced dead at his home on July 5.

Cliff Morse of the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department said he was called to Quarles’ home where he found Quarles on the floor by the bed with an empty bottle of Lorazepam, a medication used for anxiety and pain relief.

Wamhoff said the toxicology report showed a blood alcohol level of .208, and a Lorazepam level of .312, well above the .2 level at which Lorazepam is fatal. The cause of death was the adverse effect of Lorazepam and ethanol.

The jury ruled the death accidental.

• John Mathas, 33, of Neponset was pronounced dead on Aug. 15.

Morse again testified, saying Mathas was found in his car, which was hidden in brush, 21 feet from 200 East Street, about three miles north of Neponset. Morse said the accident was called in by the Bureau County Highway Department, after employees saw fresh skid marks and discovered the car.

Wamhoff said she believed Mathas had died the previous evening, based on unanswered messages on his cell phone and the amount of rigor mortis in the body. She said he had a blood alcohol level of .193, more than twice the legal limit, and the cause of death was massive trauma to the head and chest.

The jury ruled the death accidental.

• Velma Stevens, 85, of LaSalle died at Orchard View Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center on Sept. 16.

Wamhoff read notes from a CNA and an LPN at Orchard View, which said Stevens choked while eating. Numerous attempts to clear her airway were unsuccessful, and she died of asphyxiation from choking on food. Wamhoff said the family did not want an autopsy performed.

The jury ruled the death accidental.

• Ricky Himes, 48, of Douds, Iowa, was pronounced dead at St. Margaret’s Health in Spring Valley on Aug. 26.

Wamhoff said she pronounced Himes dead at the hospital. She said his stepson and a state trooper told her that while Himes and his stepson were traveling through the area, he suddenly told his stepson to grab the steering wheel because his head hurt. Himes lost consciousness and later died.

Wamhoff said a toxicology test revealed methamphetamine in Himes’ system, and the cause of death was cardiac arrhythmia due to the adverse effects of methamphetamine.

The jury ruled the death accidental.

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