The identity of a man who died Sunday night when a pickup truck he was in burned on Easy Street was not being released by the Santa Clara County Coroner's office by press time, a representative said Monday morning.
Police are investigating his death as suspicious, but were still awaiting the coroner's report Monday morning. It was not clear by press time if the man's death is a homicide or a suicide, according to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. Joe Sampson.
The truck was found at the gated entrance to Atherton Circle and Atherton Way in southwest Morgan Hill just off of Santa Teresa Boulevard.
A plume of black smoke was visible from surrounding areas until the blaze was extinguished.
The fire, which was reported just before 7:30 p.m., fully engulfed the truck but did not spread to vegetation in the area. It was not clear by press time if the man was dead before the fire started or was killed by the fire.
Firefighters responded to a call from Greg Rose, whose home is on the west side of easy street just north of the gate. He and his wife, Deb, said they heard the engine of the truck revving loudly and heard the noise of the engine burning. When he went outside, Greg said, he used a garden hose to spray down nearby grass and bushes so they wouldn't catch on fire. He didn't realize at the time there was anyone in the vehicle, he said, but the truck was fully engulfed in flames.
The Roses' daughter, Aimee, 18, said she and her friends heard loud, popping noises as the truck burned, but also didn't realize there was anyone outside. When officers arrived on scene and put up crime tape yards away from the truck, they realized there might be a person inside.
"Of course, they didn't want to tell us that, but we figured there might be," she said. "It was pretty bad."
Greg and Deb said they didn't recognize the truck as being one that belonged in the neighborhood, but said when they first saw it, the truck was unrecognizable due to the flames.
"There are trucks that come in an out of there all the time, landscapers, construction workers, all kinds of vehicles, so you can't really say," Deb said.
The gate to the community was closed, Greg added, when the fire first started, but speculated that the heat or flames may have caused the gate to open. The gate code box, he said, was on fire at one point.
The gate was open when police arrived at the scene.
Detectives and forensic investigators were on the scene, and an arson investigator was called in.
More on this developing story will be posted as information becomes available.
Marilyn Dubil Marilyn Dubil is a freelance writer for The Times.
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