Wreck victim McClain drowned, autopsy shows

Published 12:00 am Friday, December 18, 2009

From Staff Reports

An autopsy has shown 43-year-old Linda McClain received abdominal injuries and then drowned after being thrown from her car as it careened off Freetown Road early Saturday morning.

The body of the mother of two and grandmother of four was found in Muddy Creek near Bovina Wednesday by Warren County deputies scouring the area. McClain’s daughter, Ashley Jilbert, had reported her mother missing Sunday.

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Warren County Coroner Doug Husky pronounced McClain dead at 1:10 p.m. at the scene.

“She would’ve passed away from the injuries, but the wreck threw her into the water,” he said this morning. He added she received the internal injuries during the wreck.

McClain’s gold 2000 Chevrolet Malibu was found heavily damaged in a ravine under a bridge between Greyline Drive and Platte Road, said Sheriff Martin Pace.

Jilbert, 21, said she last spoke with her mother on Friday and knew something had happened when she did not return calls on Saturday.

Where McClain was headed Saturday morning was unclear, but the vehicle appeared to have crossed into the oncoming lane on Freetown Road and down into a ravine while she was traveling west, Pace said. The wreckage was not visible from the road.

Riles Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.