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Chevy Chase church employee’s death ‘natural’

WASHINGTON – A church employee died Thursday afternoon after being found outside his Chevy Chase church with an injured leg, suffering from some type of medical emergency.

Montgomery County Police tell WTOP the death of the man, Colbert Pleze of Southeast D.C., was ruled “natural” by a medical examiner, but the exact cause has yet to be determined.

Crews from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue and Chevy Chase Village Police responded to reports of the injured man near Grafton Street and Chevy Chase Circle outside All Saints’ Episcopal Church around 3 p.m. Pleze, age 59, was transported to a hospital where he died.

Lucille Baur with Montgomery County Police tells WTOP the crash reconstruction team ruled out a hit and run. Previously, it was thought a possibility because of where Pleze was found.

Still, the cause of death hasn’t been determined. But Baur confirmed it isn’t being investigated as a suspicious death.

“This could be a medical emergency, this could be accidental,” said Baur.

WTOP’s Michelle Basch contributed to this report.

Follow @MBaschWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.

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