A potential witness in the federal investigation into the Henry County Sheriff's Office was killed in a car crash the day after indictments were made public, prompting authorities to request a full examination of the vehicle to rule out foul play.

Although it appears that the wreck was no more than a coincidence, it adds a bizarre layer to a corruption case that has already attracted national attention.

Calvin Rayfield Moore, 57, of Bassett died Nov. 3 when his Lincoln Navigator ran off the road in Franklin County after dark and he overcorrected, flipping the vehicle in the median, officials said.

The day before, the government had announced charges against 20 people, including Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell, 12 current and former deputies and seven civilians.

Many of the deputies are accused of taking drugs from evidence and distributing them in the community. The indictment alleges that Cassell himself knew about illegal activity but looked the other way.

According to testimony from Special Agent Ronald Bonaventura with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Moore helped distribute two kilograms of cocaine that had been taken by Henry County Sgt. James Vaught in 2001.

In April 2006, authorities executed a search warrant on Moore's house and found cocaine. He was charged along with six others with distribution and had been convicted but not sentenced before his death.

The extent of the connections between the April case and the Henry County case are unknown. But since Moore's arrest, he had been cooperating with investigators in the Henry County case, said his defense attorney, Robert Rider.

Moore's name also came up in a covertly recorded conversation between Vaught and Cassell that has been filed as evidence in the case.

After Vaught asked Cassell if he knew that Moore was "good buddies" with a deputy who was not charged in the case, Cassell said he did.

"I always thought that's why the DEA didn't trust us," Cassell said.

Virginia State Police Master Trooper Tim Harris, who investigated the crash, said Moore's body was claimed by the Roanoke Medical Examiner's office within hours of his death and was autopsied the next morning.

"They jumped right in on that," Harris said. "There's some people that really got antsy."

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on Moore, but Harris said two search warrants have been served on the vehicle at the request of Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bondurant.

The first was a search of the exterior "to make sure it hadn't been knocked off the road or anything," Harris said. Blood swabs, a hair sample and three nearly empty bottles -- one wine, one vodka and one whiskey -- were collected.

Toxicology tests are still pending, Harris said.

The second warrant authorized Master Trooper Roger Warden, a mechanic, to examine the inner workings of the vehicle to make sure nothing was compromised, Harris said.

State Police Lt. Tim Lyon said he was not aware of any evidence of foul play from either search.

Both Moore and his passenger, Winona Dudley, 42, also of Bassett, were ejected from the Navigator, Harris said. Moore died at the scene, but Dudley survived and was airlifted to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. It is unclear whether she is still hospitalized.

She was conscious at the scene, and police have talked to her, Harris said.

Rider said he was shocked when he learned Moore had been killed.

"Surprised is probably not even the correct word," he said. "You immediately try to think if there is some connection to the indictment."

Rider said his client had been worried about the charges and afraid for himself and his family because of the people he knew.

Still, "I haven't heard anything since then that would indicate it was anything more than a tragic accident," Rider said.