Daniel Friedman
Former Ramapo Councilman Daniel Friedman died Friday morning after he reportedly jumped from the Bear Mountain Bridge. He was 30 and worked for the Rockland Legislature.
State police continued to search for his body in the Hudson River on Friday.
A car registered to Friedman was found at the entrance to the bridge and video surveillance camera shows a man walking to the middle of the span and jumping, state police Senior Investigator Brian Hoff said.
:”Daniel Friedman’s whereabouts are unknown,” Hoff said. “We suspect that it’s him but we’re still searching.”
Hoff said the divers and boats searched the water from about 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. Friday, and the site also was viewed from the sky.
“We’re going to meet with Daniel Friedman’s family,” Hoff said. “We’re sending boats back, with sonar.”
Rockland Sheriff Louis Falco said his office is working with the state police. He said the case is difficult for him since he knew Friedman personally.
“I am distraught,” Falco said. “He was a good guy.”
Friedman, a Democrat, was appointed to the Ramapo Town Board in April 2010 to succeed Edward Friedman, who was no relation and had died.
He lost a Democratic Party primary in 2015 to Samuel Tress, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Tress was backed by the town Democrats and St. Lawrence, but was forced to resign this year – only months after taking office – after pleading guilty to a corruption charge tied to his actions as a ZBA member.
Friedman claimed to be the youngest elected official in Rockland County in 2010 and the town’s youngest councilman in history.”
Read the complete Journal News story here.