Iraq veteran with PTSD dies after jumping from moving car

Coroner: War veteran who died in jump from vehicle had PTSD
Journal Star
By GARY L. SMITH
Posted Sep 07, 2013

CHILLICOTHE
The Chillicothe man who died after jumping from a moving vehicle on Illinois Route 29 Friday afternoon was an Iraq War veteran who was being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder arising from combat duty, an official said.

Zachary L. Crawford, 26, was on his way home from an appointment at a Veterans Administration clinic with his parents when he jumped from the vehicle near Hopewell Estates south of Sparland, Marshall County Coroner David Lenz Jr. said Saturday.

Lenz, who pronounced the man dead at the scene, had confirmed Friday that he was a military veteran. He said Saturday that parents Mike and Renee Crawford had asked him to reveal the further information about their son’s PTSD, which Lenz initially did not disclose because of federal health privacy requirements.

Although the parents were not ready to talk directly with media yet, “They gave me permission to discuss his medical condition because they wanted people to know that PTSD was a factor in this,” Lenz told the Journal Star.
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