Driver discovers a body along I-40 in North Carolina, sheriff says

An attentive motorist traveling Interstate 40 reported seeing someone “face down” in the grass, and closer inspection by deputies revealed the man was dead, North Carolina investigators say.

The discovery was made just after 1 p.m. Wednesday near Connelly Springs, about a 65-mile drive northwest of uptown Charlotte.

“Burke County 911 Center received a call from a concerned motorist reporting a person lying face down on the side of Interstate 40, near the Exit 113 westbound,” the Burke County Sheriff’s Office said in a March 18 news release.

“Burke County sheriff’s deputies responded to the area and located a deceased white male in the tall grass beside the roadway near the Exit 113 bridge.”

The person’s identity is not being released until investigators can locate and notify relatives, officials said.

“The Medical Examiner’s Office has been notified and will conduct an investigation to determine the cause of death,” the sheriff’s office said.

Exit 113 provides access to Rutherford College and UNC Health Blue Ridge Hospital, maps show.