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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Police believe a 19-year-old Springfield man was under the influence of a synthetic drug when he lay down in the middle of a highway and was fatally struck by a passing car.

The Springfield News-Leader reports Joshua Tucker died just before 1 a.m. May 16 after being run over on U.S. 65. Police say he and two other men had smoked a "joint" believed to have been laced with chemicals.

A 22-year-old woman who ran over Tucker tested negative for drugs and alcohol. So did Tucker, which made investigators believe he had smoked synthetic drugs that are manufactured to avoid detection.

A friend who was with Tucker that night told police Tucker started acting strangely after smoking the substance and ran off around midnight.