Authorities have identified a body found in a car this morning along Mount hope Church Road.
Gary Lee Hamlet, 60, of 8345 Sharon Lane, struck a ditch when he ran off the roadway.
A motorist spotted the vehicle, a 1988 Chevy Cavalier, which was about 20 feet down an embankment and into a creek.
The N.C. Highway Patrol is investigating this as an accident and are unable at this time to determine the cause.
The wreck may have occurred sometime overnight.
A resident recalled hearing a loud noise around midnight and another neighbor believed they saw his car leaving his driveway this morning.
“Alcohol and other impairment is not suspected,” said Trooper D.A. Motsinger.
Motsinger said investigators are waiting to hear from the medical examiner’s office to determine a cause of death.
It is not clear if Hamlet died as a result of a medical condition or from the crash.
“We are not sure of any medical condtions that may have contributed to this accident,” Motsinger said.