MONROE – An 81-year-old local man died Wednesday morning in a single-vehicle car crash.

Officers who went to the scene suspect Joseph Hurley suffered a medical problem that caused the crash.

The accident investigation will include an autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office.

Chief Deputy Bob Keating of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday that Hurley was traveling east on Route 139, approaching the intersection with Route 141 in Monroe village, when the 1998 Chevrolet Blazer dove into a ditch, struck a culvert and a tree and ran over some shrubbery before stopping.

In all, the vehicle traveled about 250 feet after it left the road, Keating said, and there were no visible skid marks indicating braking.

Hurley’s passenger, his wife, Jean, suffered cuts and bruises and was taken to Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast by ambulance for treatment. She told officers her husband had a history of heart problems.