Man identified who died after altercation near Washington County bar

UPDATE: Authorities said today that Robert T. Blankenship, 45, of Washington, was the man who died after being found in the parking lot of a Washington, Iowa bar early Sunday.

Police were called to the Fourth Avenue Bar and Grill, 331 Fourth Ave. in Washington, at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday after witnesses reported an unconscious man in the bar's parking lot. The witnesses told police several people had been involved in an altercation in the area where Blankenship was found.

Blankenship was taken to the Washington County Hospital by ambulance and later transferred to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where he was pronounced dead.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is helping the Washington Police Department with the investigation.