By james art Authorities were on the scene of a death investigation Thursday afternoon in downtown Winston-Salem in a parking lot across from the Forsyth County Jail.
A man’s body lay under a white sheet on the sidewalk on the south side of the parking deck at the corner of Third and Church streets.
Katie Clavers was walking to her car on the deck when she heard what she heard was a noise.
“I heard a pop, looked up and he was on the ground,” Katie Clavers said.
Clawers said she wasn’t sure what caused the sound she heard.
Clawers said when she rounded the corner, she saw a man in a pickup truck pull over and get out to check on the man, who was not moving.
“He came over and tapped him on the shoulder, but he didn’t respond,” Clawers said.
The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. Police officers gathered on the deck, blocking access and preventing drivers inside the deck from leaving.
Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough came to where the body lay, along with several deputies. It was not clear why the sheriff and his men were there, although the parking lot is almost sandwiched between the jail and the sheriff’s office.
Police put up yellow tape to block off Church Street on the south side of the deck. The man’s body was on the pavement outside the entrance to the deck on the Church Street side.
About an hour after the deck entrances were blocked, people who had parked inside finally got a chance to leave.
A man behind the wheel of his car getting out said he didn’t know what happened.
“I have no idea,” said the man.
An hour after it began, the dead man’s body was still lying on the pavement under the sheet.