Jim Boeheim to return to Syracuse bench after fatal crash
Orange set to face off against top-ranked Duke on Saturday
Jim Boeheim will coach Syracuse against top-ranked Duke on Saturday night in his team's first game since the 74-year-old Basketball Hall of Famer struck and killed a pedestrian on a dark highway.
Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said in a news release Friday that Boeheim would resume his coaching duties at the Carrier Dome three days after the crash.
The accident happened on Interstate 690 in Syracuse on Wednesday night after the Orange beat No. 18 Louisville. Police say 51-year-old Jorge Jimenez was a passenger in a car that apparently skidded out of control on a patch of ice and hit a guardrail.
Police say Jimenez was trying to get to safety when he was struck by Boeheim's SUV. Boeheim had swerved to avoid the disabled car, which was resting perpendicular across two lanes.
Jimenez was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Another man in the group suffered minor injuries, police said.
No tickets have been issued and the investigation is continuing.
Police said Boeheim has been cooperating. He used his cellphone light to warn other drivers of the disabled car after the accident, police said.
"At this time we have no reason to believe that there are criminal charges that will be coming for anyone," Syracuse Police Chief Kenton T. Buckner said Thursday evening at a news conference.
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.
Fitzpatrick called it "an accident in the purest sense of the word."
Boeheim has been head coach at Syracuse, his alma mater, since 1976 and is one of the most accomplished coaches in the country. He ranks second all-time in wins in Division I with 944, behind only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski. Over his 43 years at Syracuse, Boeheim has led the team to a national title in 2003 and five Final Four appearances.