Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York State Police are investigating the death of 32-year-old Gabriel Turner of Snyder, who was found deceased on the Interstate-90 East in Amherst on Monday night.
At approximately 8:15 p.m. ET, Troopers responded out of the Buffalo station to the incident, which occurred near the I-290 interchange in Amherst.
According to police, Turner was traveling in the passenger seat of a Ford F550 tow truck. A preliminary investigation revealed that Turner fell out of the vehicle while it was in motion.
"A female exited that vehicle when the tow truck was doing, I would say, normal speeds on the Thruway. We went out to the scene, located the female, [she was] deceased, and that starts our investigation," said State Trooper James O'Callaghan in an interview with WBEN on Tuesday.
A 34-year-old male from Buffalo was driving the vehicle. O'Callaghan says the driver of the tow truck and Turner did know each other.
"It's not just by random, it's not like the tow truck was towing somebody and giving them a ride back and this happened. They already knew each other, and that's what we're trying to determine. Was this possibly a relational type thing, relationship gone sideways? Was this completely accidental? Was this a suicide? Was this even criminal? That's what we're looking at," O'Callaghan detailed.
The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Forensic Identification Unit and the Erie County District Attorney's Office are working together in the investigation.
"There's only two people that know what happened in that vehicle, and one of them is deceased. We have to make sure we look at everything, and make sure we make an accurate determination of what happened," O'Callaghan added.
O'Callaghan asks anyone who may have witnessed this incident or was in the area with more information to call New York State Police at (585)-344-6200.
