CORTLAND, NY (607NewsNow) — Cortland Police are calling a fatal crash a ‘tragic accident.’
Officers say 63-year-old Kyong Searle, of Cortland, was in a crosswalk in downtown Cortland shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Thursday when she was struck and killed by a minivan that was out delivering packages for an Amazon.com subcontractor.
The driver is from Syracuse and has been identified as 23-year-old Victor Pagola Armesto. Police say a combination of sun glare and human error led to the deadly crash, when Pagola Armesto was making a left turn from Court to Main Street at the same time Searle was walking.
According to a news release from the Cortland Police Department, “City of Cortland downtown surveillance cameras captured clear footage of the incident. Based on the investigation to date, this incident appears to be a tragic accident caused by a combination of human error and environmental factors, including sun glare.”
“At this time, there are no indications of operator impairment. He has been issued a traffic ticket for Failure to Yield the Right of Way to a Pedestrian in a Crosswalk, in violation of New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1151-A,” police added.
Additional charges are pending as police continue to investigate, authorities said.
