The motorists could hardly believe what they were seeing. It was a typically frigid February morning, but a scantily clad young man seemed unfazed. Barefoot and draped only in boxer shorts, he ran with fantastic fury on the frozen ice of Highway 30 just south of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Witnesses said he sprinted with the gusto of a runner heading toward the finish line.

The bizarre scene captured the attention of the motorists but not quickly enough. A semi-driver heading toward the runner frantically slammed the brakes and honked the horn with equal urgency, but to no avail. The runner seemed oblivious to the danger, and the driver could not stop his truck in time. The rig ran over the runner, killing him instantly.

The runner was identified as twenty-one-year-old Jarod Allgood, a sophmore at Cedar Rapids’ Kirkwood Community College. The official cause of his death was the first such ruling in Iowa history.

Jarod Allgood

Police initially ruled Jarod Allgood’s death a suicide, but that seemed unlikely as he was popular, had an active social life, and had never shown any signs of depression. He also had no history of alcohol or drug abuse, and an autopsy found no trace of either in his system.

The only quirk Jarod had ever exhibited had been dismissed by doctors as harmless. Now, his mother Becky believed that quirk was actually a disease which had killed him.

Suicide Unlikely

Along with his brothers Jason and Aaron, Jarod had been a sleepwalker since he was a child. Becky says she told several doctors about the condition, but each assured her it was nothing to worry about.

Jarod continued to sleepwalk throughout his youth, during his high school years, and while attending Kirkwood. None of the incidents caused any alarm or showed any warning as to what occurred on February 9, 1993.

A Chronic Sleepwalker

Jarod was a good athlete growing up, particularly at football and track. His roommate, Jeff Harris, told Becky that Jarod had told him about a recurring dream he had been having several weeks before his death.

Jeff says that in the dream, Jarod said he was running on foot against a man driving a car. The race was outside in the dark and the driver was from Bertram, a small town about nine miles southeast of Cedar Rapids.

Jarod’s dream and reality appeared to collide as his death occurred while it was still dark and as he was running on a street leading to Bertram.

Jarod probably had plenty of dreams he hoped would come true. The dream that seemingly came true was probably not one of them, and it had an ending he had not foreseen. For Jarod’s friends and family, his dream had become a real-life nightmare.

A Dream Of Death?

Iowa State Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Bennett changed Jarod Allgood’s death to undetermined and ultimately to death as a result of sleepwalking.

It was ruled that in the early morning hours of February 9, 1993, Jarod rose from his bed, exited his upstairs apartment, ran down the stairs, and sped outside into the frigid cold clad only in his undies.

Though witnesses reported Jarod’s eyes were open, he was not awake. While still sleeping, he weaved around parked vehicles and turned corners as he sprinted for over a mile, until he was struck by the semi.

Death Resulting From Sleepwalking

We generally go through four stages before falling asleep. Many neurologists who study sleep disorders say these stages can blend into each other, causing people to sleepwalk and have fatal accidents that are wrongly labeled suicides. These incidents are sometimes referred to as “pseudo-suicides.”

Jarod Allgood is believed to have been in the state between light sleep and deep sleep; he was awake enough to perform physical actions but unaware of what he was doing.

The Stages of Sleep

Jarod Allgood was the first person in Iowa history whose death was attributed to sleepwalking.

A Sad Distinction

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103521084/jarod-adam-allgood#

 

SOURCES:

• ABC News
• Cedar Rapids Gazette
• Des Moines Register
• Iowa Magazine