Suspicious death of Colusa man ruled likely accidental

An autopsy on a Colusa man whose death had been considered suspicious showed the cause was likely accidental.

Mike Servenack, 66, died Saturday, less than a day after being transported by ambulance to the Colusa Regional Medical Center intensive care unit with a fractured skull.

"The pathologist said he died of blunt-force trauma consistent with a fall," Colusa interim police Chief Ross Stark said Tuesday.

"There is nothing that indicates foul play."

Stark said the criminal investigation is concluded.

Friends have been concerned about Servenack for months.

He had been depressed after losing his job, had lost much weight and recently had shown up with bruises he could not explain.

There was even talk about some kind of intervention, but friends just weren't sure.

Then word came that he was in the intensive care unit with a fractured skull.

The next morning he was dead.

Police described the death as suspicious, but did not officially classify it as a homicide.

"The doctor called us because the type of fracture to the back of his head was suspicious," Stark said on Saturday, "but it is not a blunt-trauma injury like someone had hit him with a tire iron."

Servenack was a longtime Colusa resident who worked many years at Pirelli Cable and more recently at the hospital. He was an engineer.

He was also an avid bowler who competed in a number of pro-level events, particularly in the senior circuit.

A graveside service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at Holy Cross Cemetery, 1741 Wescott Road, Colusa.