State police say a Galway man is believed to be the man who jumped in the Mohawk River on Thursday night in an effort to elude capture but instead drowned.
State police said the body pulled from the river this morning was identified through an autopsy as that of Richard S. Bennett, 41, and that Bennett was the man who fled from a traffic stop in the area of Route 5 and Route 103. Police said Bennett jumped in the water after allegedly assaulting a trooper, according to police radio transmissions. The man then attempted to swim from the Glenville side to the Rotterdam Junction side.
Rescue boats from area fire departments including Scotia and Beukendaal, as well as state police, searched the area. A helicopter was also dispatched to put a spotlight on the area and divers were called in at about 10:30 p.m. The body was discovered about 10:30 a.m. today
An autopsy was performed at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady and cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to accidental drowning. Toxicology results are pending.
Grieving relatives were at the Glenville side of the river but declined to talk to the media.
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