Published: 8/31/2017 4:12:43 PM
HATFIELD — Authorities have identified the man whose body was recovered from the Connecticut River in Hatfield Wednesday night after his car plunged into the river as Mark Gilman, 34, of Hatfield.
Gilman was recovered by the Massachusetts State Police Dive Team after the car entered the river at a high rate of speed before 7 p.m. The car was traveling down Bridge Lane before it entered the river.
Growing up, Gilman had a love for music. In eighth grade, the Smith Academy student and his band performed at the school’s first variety show, according to a news story in the Gazette. His family could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
More than a dozen first responders arrived quickly on scene, after a neighborhood resident called 911, but were unable to do much without a dive team. About an hour after the crash, the sun had set and a flashlight lit the way as the first diver entered the water, the Gazette reported from the scene Wednesday night.
The incident remains under investigation by Hatfield Police, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office and the MSP Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.