Bedford Man, 23, Dies of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

Blair County Coroner Patricia Ross has identified the man found dead in his car in a field along Cross Cove Road and Ellis Road near Martinsburg Friday morning, Jan. 3.

According to Ross, an autopsy performed Friday at Forensic DX in Windber showed that Aaron Rose, 23, of Bedford, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Ross said Rose was on his way to work along Cross Cove Road between 3 and 4 a.m. and when he didn’t show, his employer contacted his family.

His car was found at around 8:30 a.m. in the field with the front end facing a retaining wall. Deputy Coroner Roger Oswald pronounced Rose dead at the scene.

Ross said Rose drove off Cross Cove Road and into the field. He fell unconscious due to the gunshot wound but his foot was on the accelerator and the car drove at low speed through the field, eventually coming to a rest against a retaining wall.

Oswald said heavy mud caused the tires of the car to spin in front of the wall. He said Rose was wearing a seatbelt and that there was no blunt force trauma.

Oswald said any impact the vehicle might have made to the wall was minimal and that the vehicle did not sustain any damage from it.

Emergency personnel had to wear mud boots to get to the vehicle. Because of the visibility of the scene from the road. a tractor was placed to shield the vehicle while crews worked to extract Rose’s body.

State Police, Hollidaysburg, the Altoona Mobile Emergency Department (AMED), the Martinsburg Volunteer Fire Company and Fire Police from Roaring Spring assisted at the scene.