LEECHBURG — A 33-year-old borough man died in a hospital early Saturday after collapsing inside a police holding cell, police confirmed.
Police and the Allegheny County Coroner's office said Brian Stevens, 33, of First Street, died in Allegheny Valley Hospital, Harrison.
Police said Stevens was behind the wheel of a vehicle that allegedly jumped a curb and hit a tree at Siberian and Pershing avenues in the borough just before 10 p.m. Friday.
Stevens was found about 45 minutes later in a wooded area along the Allegheny River, police said.
Suspected drugs were found inside the car and in the thread of an empty metal vial found on Stevens, police said.
At the police station, Stevens reportedly refused to take a Breathylizer test and was arrested and placed in a holding cell.
“It's my understanding that he was coherent, up and walking,and all of a sudden he collapses,” Police Chief Keith Knepshield said.
Police and constables administered CPR and called for an ambulance, Knepshield said.
The crew worked on Stevens while taking him to the hospital where police said he died shortly after midnight.
An autopsy was performed later Saturday. Police said they were told no physical or medical cause of death was found in the autopsy. A deputy coroner would only say the case is pending a toxicology report.
Chuck Biedka is a staff writer for the Valley News Dispatch, Tarentum.
