Body of Vernon bicyclist found dead in Warwick

WARWICK — A Vernon, N.J., man was found dead on the side of County Route 88 in Warwick early Tuesday morning, June 13, along with his bicycle.
He has been identified as Bernard P. O'Kane, 55, who lived on Lake Wallkill Road in Vernon, New Jersey.
According to Warwick Police Lt. Thomas Maslanka, at 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday, O'Kane’s body was found off of County Route 88 about 75 yards from the New Jersey state line. His body was spotted hidden in a ditch by another bicyclist.
After an autopsy conducted by the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday, O'Kane’s cause of death appears to have been the result of a ‘medical emergency,’ Maslanka said.
There were no signs of trauma and no damage to his bicycle, so they do not believe he was involved in an accident with a motor vehicle.
“In fact there, was a glass bottle in the basket of his bicycle that wasn’t even broken,” Maslanka said. “So it appears as if he pulled over on the bicycle and just fell off and rolled down into the ditch.”
O’Kane’s official cause of death has yet to be determined.
- Erika Norton