Preliminary autopsy results come in for elderly man who died after car plunged into the Chattahoochee River, coroner says

An man in his 70s who plunged into the Chattahoochee River on Jan. 14 now has a preliminary cause of death, according to Russell County authorities.

According to Russell Country Coroner Arthur Sumbry, the preliminary autospy results from the Alabama Department of Forensics Sciences in Montgomery revealed that Robert Fisher of Columbus died of an accidental drowning.

The incident occurred around 1:40 a.m. on Jan. 14. The Phenix City Police Department got a call from a TSYS security guard who reported seeing a suspicious vehicle across the river, Phenix City Police Capt. Darryl Williams said.

When the security guard got closer, he noticed headlights in the river and then called police. After police assessed the scene, they found an elderly male in the driver’s seat and determined the car plunged down the embankment while he was suffering from a medical incident.

He was pronounced dead at 5:15 a.m. by Sumbry.

This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 12:09 PM.