PANAMA CITY BEACH — Panama City Toyota owner Christopher Hill was found dead at his home on Thursday, family members confirmed.
Emergency medical personnel responded to a call at around noon when Hill was found unresponsive in bed at his Laird Circle home. The Panama City Beach Police Department was investigating his death Thursday as the Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy.
An official cause of death will not be released until the medical examiner’s report is finished.
Meanwhile, family members, many of whom worked alongside Hill at the car dealership, were grieving the sudden loss Thursday evening. Hill had been the CFO of the Panama City Toyota dealership for more than 17 years before taking on the lead role.
Hill took over the dealership’s operations after his brother, Rusty Hill, died during a drowning incident in a PCB pool on July 8, 2011.
The business grew to become one of the most successful automobile dealerships in the Southeastern United States since Rusty Hill purchased it after moving to Panama City Beach in 1992, perennially receiving Toyota’s presidential award as one of the system’s top dealerships.
Representatives of Toyota were not immediately available for comment Thursday.