SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim says the memory of the deadly accident on Interstate 690 East on Feb. 20 is “never going away.”
“Tuesday, it’s not going to be any better. It’s not going to be any better next week. It’s not going to be any better next month. It’s not going to be any better next year,” the longtime Orange coach said in responding to reporters’ questions after Syracuse’s 75-65 loss to No. 1 Duke basketball on Saturday night.
Syracuse police say the SUV that Boeheim was driving last Wednesday night struck and killed Jorge Jimenez, 51, of Syracuse on Interstate 690 East in Syracuse. Jimenez was a passenger in a Dodge Charger that had earlier hit a guard rail. He and the other passengers were attempting to cross the highway to get to safety when the fatal collision happened. Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner called the accident a “tragedy” in an afternoon news conference last Thursday, adding that authorities don’t expect to file any charges or issue any tickets in connection with the accident.
Boeheim said he can’t describe the feelings he’s had since the tragedy occurred and doesn’t think he can make anybody understand “who hasn’t been there.”
“[I’ve] been here a long time, and there’s a lot of things in there you have to overcome but there is nothing like this when a human life is lost and you’re there,” he said.
Boeheim said “we’ve reached out” to the Jimenez family following the accident.
“This isn’t about me. It doesn’t matter how I feel. It’s how they feel and what’s happened to them,” said Boeheim.
As the Syracuse head coach began his post-game remarks, he read a prepared statement that included extending sympathy to the Jimenez family.
“As Chancellor Syverud and Director of Athletics John Wildhack have said, our entire Syracuse University family extends our deepest condolences to everyone impacted by this loss,” Boeheim said in reading the statement.
Top ranked Duke defeated the Orange before a crowd of 35,642, the largest gathering for an on-campus college basketball game.
“Very proud of my players … The support that we got tonight was unbelievable,” said Boeheim.
The statement also included an explanation of Boeheim’s decision to return to the Orange bench less than 72 hours after the tragic accident.
“My decision to coach this game — all I can say is that I felt a great responsibility, an obligation, to my players, the members of my basketball team. I recruited these young men to come and play at Syracuse University. They needed me to try do my job. And they understand I did this feeling fully the weight of the tragic accident and its impact on the Jimenez family. This is something that will be with me for the rest of my life,” Boeheim said in reading the statement.
The Orange next play on Tuesday night at North Carolina, which is another Top 10 ranked team.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com