Family members and investigators alike are left with questions and few answers about the death of a young Albuquerque man who was found slumped over the steering wheel of a new gold-colored Jaguar early Monday, the Albuquerque Journal reported this morning. 

Larry Chavez Jr., a 21-year-old graduate of Rio Grande High School and sales rep trainee at a family-owned business in Albuquerque, was driving south on Carlisle NE around 1:15 a.m. Monday when his car swerved off the road just north of the Interstate 40 overpass, the Journal reported.

Albuquerque police say Chavez didn't die from crash-related injuries and won't know the cause of death until an autopsy is done -- a process that could take weeks, the Journal said.

Norbert Chavez, the young man's uncle, told the Journal his nephew didn't have any medical conditions that could account for his death.

"We're still in shock," Norbert Chavez said. "Everybody's in shock." 

9:30am 4/7/08 UPDATE: Police continue to investigate the suspicious death of a man in his late 20s or early 30s who was discovered around 1:15 this morning slumped over the steering wheel of his newer model gold-colored Jaguar that had veered into the median between southbound and northbound Carlisle north of Interstate 40, Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman Nadine Hamby told ABQjournal.com.

Witnesses told police they saw the car that was driving southbound on Carlisle swerve into the median and come to a stop near the diversion channel just north of the Carlisle/I-40 overpass, Hamby said.

Until they've had an opportunity to search the car and take a closer look at the victim, police are calling the death "suspicious," and Hamby told us it's too early to tell whether the death is a homicide.

Meanwhile, police have blocked southbound Carlisle from Menaul to the I-40 overpass and northbound Carlisle was shut at the overpass, and the Carlisle off-ramp from westbound I-40 and the eastbound on-ramp from Carlisle to I-40 have been closed to traffic, but those should be reopened soon, said Hamby.

8:05am 4/7/08 -- Carlisle Death Being Called 'Suspicious': Man found dead in new Jaguar near I-40 early this morning.

Despite initial reports that a man found slumped over the steering wheel of his car that veered into the median of southbound Carlisle at Interstate 40 around 1 a.m. was a homicide, police are now calling the death "suspicious," according to 770 KKOB Radio.

Police are now investigating the death of the man, whose identity has not been released, as a possible "medical event," KKOB reported.

Meanwhile, the westbound on-ramp from Carlisle to I-40 will remain closed for another couple of hours and the Carlisle overpass remains closed in both directions as the investigation continues at the scene, KKOB's Helen Wheels reported.

Breaking at 5:27am -- Police Investigate City's Latest Homicide: Man found dead in his car around 1 a.m. on Carlisle near I-40.

Albuquerque police are investigating the city's latest homicide after a man was found dead in a car around 1 this morning on Carlisle near Interstate 40, 770 KKOB Radio is reporting.

A witness called police to report a car driving southbound on Carlisle that veered into the median, and when police arrived they found a man in his 20s slumped over the wheel of his car, KOAT-TV reported.

Police aren't saying what caused the man's death, according to KOAT. 

Carlisle remains closed from Menaul to I-40 and the westbound on-ramp from Carlisle to I-40, so drivers are urged to find an alternate route, Action 7 news reported. 

We'll bring you more details as we get them.

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