Bail set at $100K cash, $200K bond for U-Haul driver charged with manslaughter

ALBION – Bail has been set for a man facing manslaughter after his passenger died Tuesday following a high-speed chase that ended when the driver plunged a U-Haul truck into the Erie Canal.

Ryan S. Armstrong

Ryan S. Armstrong, 43, of Brockport has been charged with second-degree manslaughter after his passenger drowned.

Armstrong has a prior felony record. He was being held in the Orleans County Jail pending a bail application hearing this morning.

Judge Sanford Church set bail at $100,000 cash, $200,000 insurance bond or $500,000 partially secured bond at 10 percent. Those were at the levels requested by the District Attorney’s Office.

Orleans County District Attorney Susan Howard was represented by first assistant DA Daniel Punch while Armstrong was represented by Public Defender Joanne Best.

Armstrong is next to appear in Murray Town Court on Sept. 24.

He is accused of stealing items from the Walgreens in Brockport at about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. He and his passenger were putting merchandise in a U-Haul truck when law enforcement were called.

Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies and Brockport police officers attempted to stop the vehicle once it was on the move but Armstrong refused, leading law enforcement on a pursuit throughout the west side of Monroe County and into Orleans County.

Armstrong eventually drove onto the Erie Canal path in the Town of Murray. The pursuit ultimately ended when he suddenly veered the vehicle into the canal, just east of Bennetts Corners Road.

Monroe deputies observed Armstrong exit the vehicle and swim to the opposite side, where he exited the canal and fled on foot. The passenger also exited the vehicle in an attempt flee. Deputies could see he was struggling to swim and jumped into the canal to rescue the passenger, losing sight of him when he went under in the murky water, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The MCSO Underwater Search and Recovery Team worked with fire companies and the Orleans County Sheriff’s marine patrol to search the canal for the passenger. Following a thorough search of the canal, they were able to recover the male, who had drown.

Armstrong faces the manslaughter charge due his “reckless actions” that led to the death of the passenger, whose name hasn’t been released.