June 25--A man arrested Saturday for driving while impaired hanged himself in a jail cell a couple of hours later.
Daryl Eugene Toler, 55, of Pinehurst was taken into custody by Sgt. M.K. Duncan of the Marion Police Department at 4:30 p.m. Saturday for DWI and possession of an open container of alcohol.
Duncan was called to the Exit 81 eastbound Interstate 40 off ramp shortly after 4 p.m. in reference to a man slumped over the steering wheel of a truck parked on the shoulder of the road.
Officers found an open bottle of whiskey in the vehicle, and Toler's blood-alcohol content was at least .30, according to the sergeant's report.
He was placed in the McDowell County jail at 6 p.m. in lieu of a $500 bond.
At 8:36 p.m., as jail staff made routine checks, they found Toler hanging by a bed sheet in an isolation cell, according to Sheriff Dudley Greene.
"They cut him down and, while EMS responded, staff members performed CPR, but they were unable to resuscitate him," Greene stated.
A medical examiner was called to the scene, as well as agents with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, who are assisting in the case.
"There is no reason for us to believe this was anything other than intentional and self-inflicted," said the sheriff.
He added that jail staff members are required to check on inmates twice an hour at regular intervals, unless they are under "suicide watch," at which time they are observed every 15 minutes.
"There was nothing to indicate to us that there was any need for him to be under suicide watch," Greene stated.
Copyright 2012 - The McDowell News, Marion, N.C.
