THOUSAND OAKS : Homeless Man Died of Alcohol, Drugs

A homeless man whose body was found in a car at a Thousand Oaks park-and-ride last month died from a combination of alcohol and drugs, the coroner reported Friday.

Toxicology tests showed that Harrison David Droege had a blood-alcohol level of 0.39 and overdose amounts of two prescription tranquilizers in his blood when he died, Deputy Coroner Jim Wingate said.

The two drugs, amitriptyline and nortriptyline, are commonly prescribed for depression, he said.

According to the sheriff’s office and a relative, Droege, 32, had been unemployed and living out of his car in the Thousand Oaks area for about a year.

His partially decomposed body was discovered April 11 by morning commuters at a parking lot on Rancho Raod.

An autopsy failed to determine an exact cause of death. But as a result of the toxicology results, Droege’s death has been ruled a suicide, Wingate said.

Droege’s last known job was with the U.S. Defense Department’s Contract Audit Agency in Oxnard, where he worked for several years as an auditor. He is survived by a sister in Indiana.