Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim “was not reckless” and won’t face charges for his role in a fatal car accident last month, according to a police accident report released Thursday, which closes the case.
He struck and killed 51-year-old Jorge Jimenez, whose car was disabled and blocking two lanes in the middle of a highway in Syracuse. Boeheim had been driving home from dinner after Syracuse’s 69-49 win over Louisville on Feb. 20.
Jimenez, who was one of four people in the car, had been standing in the highway after his car spun out from a patch of ice, the police report said, according to multiple outlets.
The report cleared Boeheim of wrongdoing but noted he was going 66 mph in a 55-mph zone. The car that Jimenez had been a passenger in was traveling at 67 mph when it spun out.
Boeheim told police he swerved in an attempt to dodge the disabled car but hit Jimenez. He also said in the report that the lights on Jimenez’s car weren’t on at the time of the accident.
“After a careful review of the facts and circumstances of this case, including the thorough and meticulous accident reconstruction performed by experienced members of the Syracuse Police Department’s Traffic Division, I concur with their findings that this was a tragic accident,” Onondaga County district attorney William Fitzpatrick wrote in the report. “No charges will be filed against anyone involved.”
The 74-year-old Syracuse coach stopped his GMC Acadia and called the police. Jimenez died shortly after being taken to a nearby hospital.
“As I get to the front of the vehicle, I observed what I believe is a person along the guardrail; there might have been more than one person,” Boeheim said in the report. “Then a split second later I hear a loud bang and I start coming to a stop.”
The report ruled out alcohol and drugs as a factor in the accident.
“Boeheim’s operation of his motor vehicle was not reckless, unreasonable or with gross negligence, and no crimes were committed,” the report said.
Boeheim returned to coach the Orange days later, telling reporters the accident would “never go away” after a 76-65 loss to Duke.
“This is forever for me,” he said. “I’ve always felt like in life there are a lot of things you have to overcome. There is nothing like this. I can’t describe it to you.”