Boeheim strikes, kills pedestrian
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim struck and killed a man along an interstate late Wednesday as Boeheim was trying to avoid hitting the man’s disabled vehicle, Syracuse, N.Y., police said.
Police said Jorge Jimenez, 51, was with three others in a vehicle that skidded on a patch of ice and hit a guardrail before coming to a halt on I-690 in Syracuse. Boeheim’s car struck Jimenez — who had been heading toward the median for safety — as Boeheim was trying to avoid the disabled car, officials said.
“I am heartbroken that a member of our community died as the result of last night’s accident,” Boeheim, 74, said in a statement. He and his wife Juli “extend our deepest sympathies to the Jimenez family.”
Police said Boeheim has been cooperating with the investigation and that he used his cellphone light to warn other drivers of the disabled car after the accident.
“At this time, we have no reason to believe that there are criminal charges that will be coming for anyone,” Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner said.
Hours before the accident, Boeheim’s team defeated 18thranked Louisville 69-49. Williamson day to day: Duke forward Zion Williamson, who left the Blue Devils’ game against North Carolina in the first minute Wednesday after tweaking his right knee when his shoe ripped apart, is day to day with a mild knee sprain, a team official said.
Nike, which supplied Williamson’s shoes, felt the impact of the incident as its stock fell 89 cents Thursday to $83.95, about a 1 percent drop.
“I’ve seen guys bust through shoes but not sprain their knee,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He goes so fast that maybe if there’s something slippery, that happened.”