CHESTERFIELD — The Northwestern district attorney’s office said that 24-year-old Cody Newton, of Shelburne Falls, was the man who died in a car crash late Saturday after his vehicle went off Ireland Street and into a branch of the Westfield River.

Chesterfield Police Chief Edward Murray said it appears the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta hit a guard rail, became airborne, landed on the bridge’s safety rail and then flipped upside down into the water 25 to 30 feet below.

“We do believe speed is a factor,” Murray said, adding that the speed limit is 30 mph.

Murray said the incident was unwitnessed. A call came in around 11:30 p.m. when a person driving by noticed a plastic bumper in the road.

The Chesterfield Fire Department was quick to remove Newton from the car, Murray said.

“One of our firefighters went into the river to remove the male from the car,” Chesterfield Fire Chief David Hewes said. “We got him to the shore in a very short period of time, and care was given by the fire department and the Highland Ambulance crew.”

Hewes said Chesterfield Police, the Massachusetts State Police, and an accident reconstruction team also responded to the scene.

“Something like this is obviously tragic,” he said. “It was tough because the water was swift and cold and there was ice, but the crew did an unbelievable job of quickly getting him out.”

The car was badly damaged and Hewes said. A large crane had to be used to remove the car from the river.

Newton was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4 a.m. Sunday.

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