Man stabs himself to death on Thruway

An Elmont man stabbed himself to death while driving on the New York State Thruway in the Ulster County town of Plattekill on Tuesday, according to a statement by New York State Police.

Around 7:25pm on Tuesday, police say, two witnesses saw a 2002 Volkswagen sedan driving erratically on the Thruway, and then pulling off the road and into a wooded area. When police responded to the scene, they found 48-year-old Elmont resident Jon D. Sheppard unconscious in the car, suffering from apparently self-inflicted stab wounds.

Efforts to revive Sheppard were unsuccessful, and he was transported to St. Luke's Hospital in Newburgh where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy was performed on Wednesday, and found that the cause of death was suicide by self-inflicted stab wounds. 

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