Single punch didn't kill Iowan, medical examiner says


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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Polk County medical examiner says one punch to the face didn't kill a 32-year-old Des Moines man.

Police say Ryan Thompson was talking to his fiancee outside their home July 10 when a man who was driving by stopped, got out and then punched Thompson in a side of his face after saying Thompson owed him money. Thompson died the next day. No arrests have been reported.

Medical examiner Gregory Schmunk told The Des Moines Register (http://dmreg.co/2bRxMUG ) that an autopsy found that Thompson had large amounts of methamphetamine in his system when he died from a hemorrhagic stroke. Schmunk says there is no evidence Thompson died from the punch.

Schmunk says Thompson's death was accidental because the meth acutely raises blood pressure and can cause a stroke.

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Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com

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