Tom Saari

HANCOCK - A 48-year-old Atlantic Mine man died during a single-vehicle traffic accident in Hancock Monday, but it’s uncertain if the accident was the cause of death.

Hancock Police Department Lt. Randy Mayra said the department received a call at about 8:12 p.m. that a vehicle driven by Jay Sigurd Seppanen had crashed into a building owned by Gartner’s Furniture & Flooring at the corner of Hancock Street and Tezcuco Street.

When officers arrived, Mayra said they found no sign that Seppanen, who was pronounced dead at the scene, had applied the brakes of his vehicle before the crash, and it was initially thought that he had suffered a medical problem which led to the accident.

Mayra said he will have more information about whether Seppanen experienced a medical problem prior to the accident after he gets a report from the Houghton County medical examiner.

The autopsy will be completed Wednesday, he said.

Mayra said a Michigan State Police accident investigator from the L’Anse post was on the scene Monday, and will return today to try to determine the sequence of events of the accident, but that may be difficult.

“There were no witnesses,” he said. “We know he went off the road.”

It’s uncertain if Seppanen crossed Hancock Street heading north on Tezcuco Street, or if he turned onto Tezcuco Street from Hancock Street, Mayra said. The Hancock Police Department is asking that anyone who may have seen Seppanen’s 2003 Suzuki Aerio near the scene at about 8 p.m. call them at 482-3102.

Assisting at the scene were Houghton Police Department, the Hancock Fire Department and the Hurontown Fire Department. The Jaws of Life were used to remove Seppanen from his vehicle.