The North Carolina State Highway Patrol believes a Virginia man who died after being found unconscious inside of a stolen car was the victim of a carjacking.

Toshio Takashima, 87, was found unconscious and severely injured on Feb. 21 inside of a stolen 2017 Ford Mustang after it crashed along Interstate 95 near Four Oaks. Authorities took Takashima to an area hospital, where he died on March 24, one day shy of his 88th birthday.

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Authorities are investigating the case as a homicide.

According to court documents, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol initially charged Takashima with possession of a stolen car and other traffic-related misdemeanors, but the charges were dismissed.

Speaking on the phone Wednesday, SHP spokesperson Chris Knox said the charges were dropped because Takashima’s “injuries were not consistent with the crash investigation.”

A motion from March 6 reveals the state’s investigation found that Takashima was instead the victim of a carjacking. WRAL News asked both the State Highway Patrol [SHP] and the State Bureau of Investigation [SBI] when and where Takashima was carjacked. Neither agency provided a time or place.

Because of the inconsistencies in Takashima’s injuries, the SBI said it took over the case on March 17. 

A collision report filed by the SHP listed Takashima as the passenger. Knox couldn’t say how or why Takashima ended up in the Mustang.

However, the State Bureau of Investigation’s news release on Tuesday stated that Takashima was found in the driver’s seat of the Mustang on Feb. 21.

The collision report filed by the SHP lists the driver of the stolen car as “unknown.” The report states the Mustang belonged to Peak Property and Casualty, not Takashima.

A spokesperson for Dairyland Insurance, the parent company of Peak Property and Casualty, provided WRAL News with a statement on Wednesday.

“We have located a claim involving this vehicle,” the spokesperson. “It was stolen, and as part of the administrative process, we transfer the title into our insurance company’s name in the event it’s recovered.”

The SBI, Johnston County Sheriff's Office and State Highway Patrol are working together to determine how Takashima died and who might be responsible.

Anyone with information is asked to call the SBI at 919-662-4500 or the Johnston County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division at 919-989-5010.

Authorities also ask for anyone who knows what happened to Takashima’s dog, Joey, to come forward.