Motorist Found Dead Along I-70 in Fayette County

Fayette County authorities are investigating the weekend death of a motorist.

Fayette County Coroner David Harris said he was dispatched Saturday evening regarding an individual being found dead in a vehicle along Eastbound I-70 at the 72 mile marker, which is about four miles west of St. Elmo. Harris pronounced the motorist, 39-year-old Richard J. Deshong of Ford City, Pennsylvania, dead at the scene.

An autopsy to determine the cause of Deshong's death was scheduled today at HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham. 

An investigation into Deshong's death continues by the Illinois State Police and Harris' office.