Methamphetamine use is behind a seemingly mysterious car crash that left a 39-year-old Butler man dead in Forest County.

Lawrence E. Treadway Jr. of Connoquenessing Township died after a crash on Route 62 near the Tionesta State Fish Hatchery Sept. 27 when his 1999 Ford-150 pickup went off the right side of the road and struck a utility pole.

Treadway died en route to a hospital, but an autopsy revealed he did not die from the accident.

Treadway's toxicology report revealed he died after suffering a drug overdose from methamphetamine, according to Forest County Chief Deputy Coroner Cody Magill.

When the Forest County Coroner's office conducted an autopsy, it answered many questions but also raised others. In October, the coroner's office determined that Treadway was healthy and there was no anatomical reason for his death. He sustained no injuries from the accident and had no diseases. The impact of the wreck was minor and he didn't suffer any internal injuries. At the time, investigators spoke to family members, who did not know why Treadway was in Forest County.

More than five weeks later, Treadway's toxicology report revealed methamphetamine use. According to Magill, Treadway must have consumed the stimulant, which affects the central nervous system, before getting in his vehicle. Magill made that determination because police did not find any drug paraphernalia in the car.

Magill said that after consuming the drug, he suffered from excited delirium, a syndrome that can include attempts at violence, unexpected strength and very high body temperature. For Treadway, excited delirium led to cardiac dysrhythmia, which is the improper beating of the heart. Cardiac dysrhythmia causes the blood to not be pumped efficiently to the rest of the body. In Treadway's case, it led to his death.

Additionally, Treadway's manner of death was ruled accidental.