A source tells Syracuse.com that Orange men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim struck and killed a man with his car while driving on the interstate around midnight on Wednesday night. From the report:
The man in his 30s had been in a car with four others near Thompson Road in Syracuse when their vehicle crashed for unknown reasons, said a source familiar with the investigation.
The man at some point got out of his vehicle, the source said.
That’s when Boeheim drove by and struck the pedestrian, the source said.
Boeheim is cooperating with the investigation, the report goes on to say, and though Syracuse police have yet to comment, the chief of police told Syracuse.com that a statement would be coming shortly.
Boeheim is one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history, with five Final Four appearances and over 900 career wins dating back to the ’70s, all with Syracuse. The Orange beat Louisville at home on Wednesday night in a game that started at 7:00 p.m. Syracuse.com notes that driving conditions were icy in spots afterwards, but it’s unclear if that had anything to do with the crash.
Update (9:58 a.m. ET): Police tell WSYR in Syracuse that no alcohol or drugs were detected in the crash, and that Boeheim was “driving an appropriate speed.”
Update (10:24 a.m. ET): Police have identified the victim as Jorge Jimenez, age 51, from Syracuse. Jimenez was a passenger in a car that lost control on the highway and struck a guardrail. Police say that Boeheim saw the disabled car, which was in the road, and tried avoiding it. In doing so, he hit Jimenez, who was standing on the side of the road.