From The Tribune staff reports
PELL CITY — The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) is investigating after a man died while fleeing from police.
Pell City Police said the incident happened around 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
Officers were attempting to pull over a stolen vehicle in Pell City. The man, now identified as David Harold Grant Morgan, 37, of Riverside, fled east on Interstate 20 but stopped on the interstate, got out of the vehicle and jumped over a guardrail into the Coosa River. The incident happened about a half-mile from the bridge, in Riverside.
Pell City Police Chief Paul Irwin said Morgan began to swim away and officers urged him to come back.
“The officers tried to get him to come back,” said Irwin. “He started to come back but he couldn’t make it.”
The man was recovered from the water 20 to 30 minutes after he jumped in the water, according to Irwin.
Pell City Police, Lincoln Fire, the St. Clair Sheriff’s Office, Riverside Police, and ALEA State Troopers all responded.