Syracuse’s Boeheim strikes, kills pedestrian on highway
SYRACUSE, N.Y. >> Longtime Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim struck and killed a man standing along an interstate late Wednesday night as he tried to avoid hitting the man’s disabled vehicle, police say.
Syracuse police say 51-year-old Jorge Jimenez was an occupant in a vehicle with three others when they lost control and hit a guardrail before midnight Wednesday on I-690 in Syracuse.
Boeheim struck Jimenez as he stood on the side of the road while trying to avoid the vehicle in the middle of the highway. Jimenez was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
“I am heartbroken that a member of our community died as the result of last night’s accident,” Boeheim said in a prepared statement. The 74-year-old Basketball Hall of Fame coach said he and his wife Juli “extend our deepest sympathies to the Jimenez family.”
He said he would not comment further “out of respect for those involved.”
Police said Boeheim is cooperating with the investigation.
“He stopped immediately and exited the vehicle,” said Syracuse Sgt. Matthew Malinowski.
Police said sobriety tests administered to Boeheim and the unidentified driver of the other vehicle were negative for any signs of impairment. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said he has known Boeheim for 40 years and that the coach does not drink.