The driver who hit and killed Syracuse University senior Jamie Klemczak came forward Sunday morning, said the man’s attorney, George Aney. Police have not yet released the name of the driver.

The unidentified male realized he may have hit a pedestrian when he read that an unidentified silver Toyota Camry, the same make as his car, hit Klemczak around the time he had been on the thruway Saturday morning, Aney said. He and one passenger were driving home from Massachusetts when the accident occurred.

The man is a 49-year-old resident of Ilion, N.Y., according to an article in The Utica Observer-Dispatch.

The driver did not see any car or person and believed he hit an animal when he felt a slight bump, Aney said. A small portion of the car’s right front bumper fell off the car at the scene, he said.

The man has not been charged and police are still investigating the accident, Aney said. Frank Spatto, the primary state police investigator for the case, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Klemczak, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, was crossing the thruway about three miles east of the Herkimer exit on foot, Spatto told The Daily Orange on Saturday. Previous to her setting foot on the thruway, her car ran off the road and into the median while she was traveling eastbound near Herkimer County, Spatto said. He said he believes she must have crossed the highway to look for help.

Police have concluded drugs and alcohol were not involved in the accident, Aney said.

‘I went over the entire scenario with (the driver) in some detail,’ he said. ‘I know of no charge that would be appropriate. It was simply a horrific, horrific accident,’ Aney said.

The passenger was asleep when the incident occurred, he said. The police have taken a statement from the passenger, but Aney said he has not read it.

Check dailyorange.com for more updates.

kronayne@syr.edu

Published on February 22, 2010 at 12:00 pm