Ohio man arrested after allegedly driving with dead passenger in vehicle

BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WTRF) -- An Ohio man was arrested after a body was found following a traffic accident on I-470.

Belmont County authorities said 36-year-old David Allen Saunders was ejected from a car when it veered off the road and hit a sign near Exit 214. Officials initially believed Saunders died as a result of the accident.

Investigators discovered Saunders had been reported missing earlier on Monday to St. Clairsville Police.

According to a Belmont County arrest warrant, WTRF reports the driver, identified as John Polen of St. Clairsville, was wanted for offenses against a human corpse. A coroner's examination of Saunders determined had been dead for several hours or longer. The cause of death was not immediately released.

The warrant said Polen was presumably under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash. Polen was arrested in Wheeling and arraigned Tuesday, WTRF reports.