Oconee county deputy is killed

OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. -- An Oconee County sheriff's deputy was found dead early Sunday pinned between his patrol car and a tree.

It appears that the car of Deputy William Frederick Schuck III had gotten stuck at about 1:35 a.m. on a private dirt road in the 6000 block of North Highway 11 near Walhalla, the sheriff's office said. He called his wife at about that time, the sheriff's office said.

Investigators believe Schuck had gotten out of his car to examine the situation when the car went forward and pinned him, according to the coroner's office. His manner of death is classified as accidental, Oconee County Coroner Karl E. Addis, said in a press release on Sunday.

The autopsy was performed Sunday morning at the AnMed Medical Center morgue.

The autopsy found that Schuck died as a result of traumatic asphyxiation. That finding is consistent with the physical observations of how he was found Sunday pinned between his car and a tree, the coroner said.

Information collected at the autopsy will be forwarded to state investigators for analysis in accordance with state law.

He was found at about 3 a.m. by a South Carolina Highway Patrol officer who was part of a search for the deputy.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating.

Schuck was a certified South Carolina law enforcement officer who had been with the sheriff's office since September 2009. He previously worked in West Columbia, S.C. He lived with his wife in Rabun Gap, Ga., and was planning a move to Oconee County, the sheriff's office said.