An autopsy revealed Butler County Health Department Administrator Robert Hudson died Sunday from carbon monoxide poisoning while working on his truck inside a closed garage.
“The official cause of death is going to be carbon monoxide poisoning, and all indications indicate that it was an accident,” said Butler County Coroner Andy Moore. “There is no other reason to believe it was anything else.”
Dr. Russell Deidiker determined Hudson’s cause of death during an autopsy Wednesday morning in Farmington.
Hudson was found dead Tuesday morning inside the garage of his home in the 100 block of County Road 525. He was found by a deputy who was conducting a wellness check on the 52-year-old.
Health department staff had contacted the sheriff’s department after Hudson did not show up for work on Monday or Tuesday morning.
After forcibly entering the home, the deputy reportedly found Hudson laying on the garage floor next to his truck. The driver’s side door was open, and the hood was up.
Based on the investigation, “we were leaning toward the idea of carbon monoxide poisoning from the vehicle running inside the (closed) garage,” said Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs. “It is our belief that Robert simply didn’t account for the fact of the vehicle being left running inside the closed garage.”
Dobbs said it was apparent Hudson was in the process of changing a headlight on his truck as it was running, and “quite possibly, the changing out of the headlight took longer than he expected.”
Officers, the sheriff said, verified Hudson was at an auto parts store around 3:30 p.m. Sunday buying the headlight.
“There were tools out, as well as the access panels to the headlight had been removed to indicate that he was in the process of fixing the headlight, and most likely was letting the vehicle warm up.” Dobbs explained.
Hudson’s truck, he said, was found with the ignition in the on position.
“The dome lights had melted from being on for an excessive amount of time,” Dobbs said. “The battery was dead, which probably happened after the truck died and the headlights remained on. The fuel gauge was on empty.”
Dobbs said Hudson was found “just outside of the driver’s door.”
“All indications are that he was doing things that normal people would do,” Dobbs explained. “He had been to exercise earlier that morning. He had laid steaks out to thaw, most likely for that night.
“It looks like to us it was just a miscalculation, and that he mistakeningly left the truck running without raising the garage door.”
Dobbs described Hudson’s death as a “terrible tragedy and definitely a sad day for Butler County.
“Bobby was a good man and very good at his job.”
Hudson, Dobbs said, had helped him “many times over the last 15 years of my being sheriff, oftentimes when I didn’t even ask for his help.
“No doubt, throughout my law enforcement career, this will go down as one of the harder cases I’ve had to deal with.”