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Ardit Lleshi, age 25, of Garfield, was taken arrested on June 30 in connection to the death of Michael Tran, according to New York State Police. Lleshi was extradited to New York on Wednesday, July 13.
Tran’s body was found on the side of the road in Albany County on May 30, near Exit 23 in Bethlehem. Investigators determined he had been struck by a northbound driver after walking away from an earlier crash.
In the first crash, police said Tran had been driving north in the southbound lanes of the NYS Thruway when his vehicle struck a tractor-trailer.
Witnesses told police Tran had appeared to be uninjured and walked away from the crash scene before troopers arrived. Police searched the area, but did not locate his body until the following day.
Lleshi was arraigned in the Town of Bethlehem Court on a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle collision, a felony. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court Thursday, Aug. 4.
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