NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The death of John Ashe, a former United Nations General Assembly president accused by U.S. prosecutors of taking bribes, was an accident caused by neck trauma he suffered while lifting a barbell, a medical examiner concluded yesterday.
Ashe, 61, died on Wednesday afternoon due to “traumatic asphyxia,” an official with the Westchester County Office of the Medical Examiner said, contradicting reports that he died of a heart attack. Ashe was on a bench while lifting the barbell.