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Emergency crews in Rensselaer County were called just after 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12, with reports that a male pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle in the town of Brunswick, near Highway 2 and Blue Factory Road.
By the time sheriff’s deputies arrived, the man had already died, the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office said.
Police did not release his name or age.
Crews found the vehicle that struck him a short distance away, off the roadway. Firefighters had to help the driver out of her car.
Nobody else was injured in the crash, police said.
The cause of the wreck is still under investigation and police did not say whether impairment may have been a factor.
In dealing with their tragic loss, the victim’s family is finding some solace in knowing that he was comforted by a good Samaritan as he lay dying, according to the woman’s niece, Stacey Zimmie.
“I would like to say that a huge thanks should be given to the woman who held and comforted this boy until he passed,” Zimmie wrote on Facebook.
“She is my aunt and a wonderful person. She let him know that he was not alone!”
Zimmie said several others “did their best” to help the victim in a “tragic situation.”
“She definitely helped out at a crucial moment,” she said. “And others who arrived in the first moments and witnessed things that most of us hope we never see.
"So many lives impacted and life for all changed in the blink of an eye.”
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