ONEONTA — A longtime employee of the State University College at Oneonta died Saturday following a one-car motor vehicle accident in the town of Davenport, Delaware County deputies said.

Allen L. Epps, 54, of Meredith died after being found unconscious in his car by a motorist on county Route 10 just north of Dutch Hill Road, deputies said.

He was taken to A.O. Fox Hospital in Oneonta where he was pronounced dead of natural causes by Otsego County Coroner James Hurley, deputies said.

Hurley said an autopsy on Sunday indicated a heart attack probably caused Epps to drive off the road.

He lost control of his vehicle, driving off the east side and up a bank, re-entering the roadway, deputies said. The vehicle then crossed the highway, going off the west shoulder and hitting a tree, deputies said.

A lifelong area resident, he graduated from Charlotte Valley Central School in Davenport and was an assistant director of the physical plant at SUCO for 32 years. He retired in December 2000.

Since he retired he was a part-time driver for Gus the Bus, Otsego County's transit system. He also was a Meredith town assessor for two years.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the West Davenport United Methodist Church, West Davenport, with the Rev. Kenneth Baldwin officiating. Burial will follow at the Glenwood Cemetery in Oneonta.

Calling hours will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Bookhout Funeral Home, 357 Main St., in Oneonta.