Attorney: Driver in fatal accident thought he struck an animal

Story Created: Feb 22, 2010 at 11:18 AM EDT

Story Updated: Feb 22, 2010 at 6:57 PM EDT

GERMAN FLATTS, N.Y. (WKTV) - The man who allegedly hit and killed a Syracuse University student on the New York State Thruway has turned himself in to authorities.

State Police in East Herkimer said that they are still investigating the case of Jamie Klemczak, 21, a senior at Syracuse University, who was killed after being hit by a car as she attempted to cross the thruway early Saturday morning.

"The driver felt a bump. He thought he had struck a fox or some kind of animal and saw nobody," said George Aney, the man's attorney.

The accident happened in the westbound lane, about three miles east of Exit 30, the Herkimer exit, at milepost 216.8. New York State Police said that Klemczak, originally of Albany, was first involved in a minor accident around 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning, which caused her to exit the car. Klemczak then attempted to cross the westbound lanes and was stuck by another passing vehicle.

Investigators with the State Police said that the owner of the car that allegedly hit Klemczak, whose name is not yet being released, had heard reports the following day of what happened on the thruway. After consulting with Aney, his attorney, he chose to surrender himself.

There were no drugs or alcohol involved on the part of the driver, Aney said.

The man and a passenger, who was asleep at the time, were traveling from Massachusetts and returning home to the area. Aney said the man did live within the Herkimer County area, but would not divulge any more specifics until State Police made their information public.

Aney said that as of Monday, there were no formal charges filed.

"To my knowledge, none have been filed," Aney said. "And none pending."

Aney went on to say that authorities would ordinarily wait until their investigation is complete before filing any charges, if they so choose.

As of 6 p.m. Monday evening,, no further details were available, but investigators said that they would be releasing more information as it became available.
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