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Ailment suspected in western Iowa man’s death in Omaha

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February 14th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities suspect a medical problem in the death of an Iowa man whose vehicle ran off an interstate ramp. Omaha police say officers were dispatched around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday to a report of a collision. They found a sport utility vehicle that had come to rest between the ramp and Interstate 80 in east Omaha. They saw no evidence of a crash. Witnesses told police the vehicle had caught fire and the driver was pulled out, unconscious. His foot had been on the accelerator but the transmission was in neutral. Police say he was taken to an Omaha hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was identified as 60-year-old Stephen Gerharter, of Council Bluffs, Iowa.