Death Of Pennsylvania Man Who Jumped Into River While Fleeing Police Ruled Accidental Drowning
FRANKLIN, Pa. (CBS/AP) — The death of a Lehigh Valley man who jumped into an eastern Pennsylvania river while fleeing from police this week has been ruled an accidental drowning. Franklin Township police encountered Jeffrey Hosier, 32, of Weissport, around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday after they responded to reports that a man was acting suspiciously and telling people that police were chasing him, authorities said.
Prior to that, officers had not had any contact with Hosier.
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Hosier ran off as police arrived, and an officer started chasing him on foot. Hosier went into the Lehigh River a short time later and the officer got a stick from shore and tried to reach out to Hosier so he could pull him to safety.
Hosier, though, refused the offer and said he didn't want to go to jail, authorities said.
Hosier went under a short time later when he hit a stretch of the river with a stronger current, authorities said. Dive teams found his body around 1 p.m. Wednesday, not far from where he entered the water.
The Carbon County coroner's office ruled the death an accidental drowning.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
