LAFAYETTE, NY – The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a fatal crash that occurred Friday evening (Oct. 13) on Interstate 81 near the Lafayette exit in the town of Lafayette.
At approximately 10:36 p.m., Sheriff’s Deputies along with members from the New York State Police and rescue personnel from the Lafayette Fire Department, responded to the southbound lanes of Interstate 81 just north of the Lafayette exit for a reported collision involving a tractor trailer and motorist who had exited his vehicle to help a friend.
Deputies investigating the crash say the motorist had been following the friend when he observed an open door on the friend’s truck.
After alerting the friend, the two pulled to the shoulder of the road to secure the door.
As the man was returning to his vehicle, he was struck by a passing FedEx tandem tractor trailer, deputies said.
The victim, a man in his 30s from Syracuse, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the FedEx tractor trailer, a 43-year-old man from Oswego County, was not injured.
Employees from the New York State Department of Transportation were called in to assist deputies with shutting down the highway.
The southbound lanes of Interstate 81 between the Nedrow and Lafayette exits are currently closed and are expected to remain closed for several hours while members of the Sheriff’s Accident Investigation Team process the scene.
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