A Lewiston man died after falling from a moving vehicle on Wawawai Road outside of Colton Sunday morning.

According to a Whitman County Sheriff’s Office news release, emergency services responded to a report of an injured man who had fallen out of a sedan at 12:30 a.m. near Blyton Point, about 5 miles west of Colton.

John W. Ludwig, 46, was a passenger in the eastbound vehicle when he fell out of the window. Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers said Ludwig appeared to be heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident, and that this was likely a factor in the accident.

Preliminary results indicate he died from massive head trauma suffered in the fall. He died in Idaho while en route to St. Joseph’s Regional Hospital, Myers said.

“It was a sad, tragic accident that could easily have been avoided,” Myers said.

The sheriff’s office was still waiting on confirmation from the coroner’s toxicology report on the amount of alcohol in Ludwig’s system.

The driver of the sedan is not believed to be at fault for the accident, and Myers said the sheriff’s office does not believe speed, intoxication, or any other factors that would affect the driver were at play.

The sheriff’s office has had to deal with injuries or deaths of this nature before.

“Every incident is unique,” Myers said, “but this is not the first time this has happened here.”

The driver’s name has not been released and no charges have been pressed at this time.