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Subscribe to RSSA New Jersey man survived a car crash early Monday, only to be killed while trying to cross the highway on foot, police said.
New Jersey State Police said 21-year-old Luis Sarmiento was found dead around 12:45 a.m. after he had been struck by two vehicles on the Garden State Parkway.
About 25 minutes earlier, Sarmiento had been involved in a two-vehicle accident on the northbound side of the parkway about a half mile from where he was killed, police said.
A preliminary police investigation revealed that Sarmiento left his car shortly after the accident and climbed over the center median to try to run across the southbound lane.
Police said state troopers matched Sarmiento’s identification to the owner of a Honda Accord abandoned at the accident scene.
Troopers also spoke to the drivers of the two vehicles that struck Sarmiento, police said. The incident remains under investigation.
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A "Final Destination" episode if I ever read one. RIP.
No toll money left.
What a terrible shame. He was only 21. Poor kid....RIP.
Most people do not realize how roads highways are until they try and cross one. They don't seem that wide a 65mh but on foot, it's a lot wider than you would think.
I think we've all played Frogger.
I cry for his loss
~In Memory of Luis Sarmiento~
Kharma...it never fails....
Bummer !!!!
Yes sirlafalot, but some played frogger better than others...
Creek Dog,
"Most people do not realize how roads highways are until they try and cross one."
I think you accidentally left a word out there. Did you mean to say something like "Most people do not realize how busy roads highways are until they try and cross one" or maybe "how wide roads highways are"?
I saw a guy that had tried to cross a freeway. Big dent in the cars bumper and hood.
All that was left of the poor guy was a bloody bag of broken bones.
You better take a long look at that approaching vehicle. Not accurately judging it's speed can be deadly.
When grim means business he will get you, even if you are able to evade him at first.
That was exactly what i first thought when i read the headline. At 21, he had a lot of life ahead of him.
He never had "a lot of life ahead of him" This was preordained. He was meant to die then and that, was that!
shut up bandit
Really sad. I can't imagine trying to cross the Parkway on foot. At his age and after being in an accident, he surely didn't fully comprehend the danger.
Sorry for his family.
This raises the question of whether he was an illegal or had an arrest warrant out. Why didn't he remain with his vehicle until the NJ State Police showed up?
He was obviously running late for his appointment with death just up the road.
So he was an illegal or a criminal because he didn't have a WASP-y last name? Because nobody else makes the decision to leave their car after an accident? We have no idea what condition the car was in or where it was located. Maybe leaving it seemed safer than staying in it.
Mayby he didnt have a couple days to spare.......
No, pb, it doesn't raise that question at all. Your bigotry does.
If He had just had His gun...............................................................................
It's possible he had been driving drunk, too, and was afraid he might get a DWI and being charged with having caused the accident if he remained with his vehicle. That would also help explain his being hit by cars while trying to cross the parkway.
Abandoning your vehicle after an accident, well that would not be the behavior of a "normal" citizen.
prehaps he was not in the state of mind,
I mean this man was just in a car accident and could have hit his head, really we should stop thinking him as stupid and just pay him the respect of his death.
RIP
Probably not an illegal, since they traced his ID to ownership of the vehicle. He may have had a warrant, or may have been drunk/otherwise breaking the law, but each of these are very presumptuous. Perhaps he wasn't thinking clearly, and thought the best course of action was to try to find help, rather than wait for help.
Perhaps he was attempting to get help from a nearby store or home and he didn't have a cell phone or it was dead. There can be many reasons.
If he had no access to communication and if it was cold, I certainly wouldn't wait. Who knows how long you'd be waiting. I'd try to carefully cross myself.
the idiot was probably drinking and driving. Why else would he had left the scene of an accident? loser!
Your compassion for your fellow human beings is inspiring.
That was my first thought too vdtexas. At that time in the morning the odds are good that he had some drinks otherwise, you would stay with your vehicle.
Lee I know we are jumping to conclusions here, however I think most people are not going to condone drinking and driving.
The problem with idiots is that they also don't know how to read, so they jump to conclusions. If one actually reads the article, one will find:
It is not unreasonable to go look for help if no help arrived in almost 1/2 an hour after an accident.
It's also kind of funny that the drivers who hit him are apparently not idiots, but he is.
I dont think this man was an idiot, prehaps he made a bad choice as drinking but what proof do we have to jump to this conclusion???
Waiting 1/2 hour? That is barely enough time for the police to finish their donuts and coffee. Did the police investigate the initial traffic accident?
Byron, if one would read, the article said he left the car shortly after the accident. He did not stick around for 1/2 hour before abandoning his verhicle.
BTW, what are you 4???? If it makes you feel better go ahead a name call. But next time know what you are talking about.
Agreed.
U mention what proof we have yet u call the guy an idiot when u have no idea why attempted to cross. U just jumped to conclusions when u disparaged him labeling him an idiot.
When your numbers up.....its up.
I don't know.........my thoughts are.....random.......and somewhat disconnected.......or I am just typing to.......myself?
Perhaps he was impaired before the wreck, but it is very possible that he was disoriented by the trauma of the accident. He could have suffered a concussion. After walking for a distance in the cold, he could have become more disoriented and unable to accurately judge the speed and distance of oncoming vehicles. It's too bad that a good Samaritan did not stop to check on him at the original site - they might have been able to keep him off the road and call for assistance.
There should be an autopsy with toxicology tests - hopefully that will answer some questions for the accident reports (his original wreck, and reports for the cars that hit him.)
Splat.....
Shoulda called flo..... then it coulda been a two-fer..
LMAO Scooter... Flo...
But seriously folks.... if you break down on the highway, exit your car on the passenger side... get over the guardrail, and move in the direction of where the traffic is coming from about 10 or so yards..
When another car plows into it at high speed, the debris is blown away from you, not on top of you.
That's just common sense. Everybody SHOULD know that. But then again he probably had no insurance and did not want to be caught by the NJ Police. You do not leave the scene of an accident, but then again - more common sense.
OK biggots;
1) The report refers to an Earlier accident. So may be they had exchanged info & the other driver had left.
2) As Sccotertramp in 3.3 points out maybe the cops didn't turn up for an accident they aint gonna turn up for a "abandoned car"
3) What was the weather like? I know they have had some cold wet white stuff around up there.
4) Taking all the above into account maybe his car was not running, there were no sign of the cops, its freezing cold and his cell phone is not working or out of charge. So he risks a run to the nearest gas station. It kills him.
5) Remember this when your in the same situation.
6) Remember the 2 other motorists who killed & ran over his corpse.
7) Prey you are never in this situation.
biggots, your, prey? Does anyone learn anything in school anymore?
Spell check doesn't fix everything. Neither does the thought that teachers would teach better with a bigger pay check as the teacher unions would have use believe.
Touche' Mr Don !
@don - yes, they should teach the difference between "use" and "us" - or did you mean "youse"?
Death's scythe must had been hanging from this man's neck...
Time was up.
This is what you call a really bad day.
An illegal alien trying to escape the scene of a crime?
Good grief. Maybe the guy was trying to go for help. Or maybe the other driver in the accident threatened him and he was running for his own safety. Or maybe he hit his head and was disoriented and didn't realize what he was doing. Could be all kinds of possibilities. But I guess it's just fun for some people to use the death of a fellow human being as an opportunity to spew venom and hatred. Some of you should really be ashamed of yourselves.
"or maybe".... he was just stupid.
Maybe the lane wasn't marked well. Oh! Sorry Mark Lane!
It really is sad how some of the people on this site find humor in it all- nothing is funny about death.
Hit and Run and Hit and Done
Some of these comments are not making the right impact. The comments have been very two dimensional, and treat the victim like some sort of refuse out by the roadside. We should straighten up people, and treat this guy with some respect! Not like some sort of speed bump. He paid the ultimate toll, and his family must shoulder the burden.
Six puns intended.
But really, your puns are kind of falling flat. And frankly I think you've crossed a line you shouldn't have crossed.
Sorry Bill. I didn't see the sign.
Obviously the guy looked like he was carrying an assault rifle so motorists felt it their duty to take him out before he shot a cop.
He could have been afraid to stay in his car. If he wasn't a gangster he probably did not have a gun permit. NJ is full of undocumented concealed weapons carriers and undocumented street pharmacists.
"street pharmacists" hahaha may I quote you Pumba.
How horrible. And how horrible are those who find some humor in it. Somewhere there is a family with a hole in it's heart.
Don't cry too much there sensitive sally.
Some Guy,
Are you a parent?
Someguy-5289621 this man just died, and Rick is just mourning for him- and you called him sensitive? What are you thinking? I don't understand why you would say this.
2 kiddos
It was in response to
Finding humor in something tragic doesn't make a person horrible, and he's being overly sensitive to it.
NO question there are lots of maybe items? Standard P.D. Investigation involving death, many TESTS are in order... so let's just wait and learn what these tests show?
His "PRIOR Driving and Auto Insurance? Criminal Background? Cell Phone records? Any call to 9-1-1? What about his Immigration status? Final Toxicology? All these reports will shed a BIG light on his motivations for "choosing to CROSS" a busy New Jersey Freeway, at night?
He was NOT standing on the SIDE of the road, attempting to flag down or signal for HELP? How many people "born and raised in the USA" even think of crossing any Freeway at night? His odd behavior "strongly suggests he was running FROM" and "not running TO" something... as if he was afraid of getting in to MORE trouble for some other reason? Just an impression?
Still... waiting for the reports is best.
Would the people "bashing" this now deceased man still do so if his parents were sitting there next to you? Or if you're a religious person, which statistically most of you are, would you do so if you're priest/rabbi/cleric were sitting next to you? And who knows, his parents may even see your comment. He was a 21 year old, even if he was drunk - like you never did anything stupid? Just b/c you're hiding behind a name on a website doesn't mean you should act like a heartless A-hole... Are you actually this heartless and just "fake it" in your "in-person" life??? YES, he MAY have been this, that, the other or something... but we don't know, and it doesn't really even matter. He is still dead, and two parents have lost their child, the one thing that no parent should ever have to endure.
Why do we care? Fools will spew foolishness because, well, they are fools. They are irrelevant.
I feel you J. Mark Lane, some things call people are just not human being. May he rest in peace
Such insensitivty. Not necessary.
There's so much speculation here, it's best to just wait it out as more evidence becomes clear. There could have been hundreds of reasons why he left his car... He could have done somethign illegal and didn't want cops involved
The tag/license could have been suspended or he had no insurance
Maybe he didn't have a phone and was trying to get off the interstate to find a pay phone or use someon else's phone
He could have been young and first time in an accident and freaked and tried to run
He could have been threatened by the other driver and after feeling threatened he ran.
There are LOTS of possible reasons why he left the car.
True. But he still made a poor decision trying to cross a highway in the dark. You never, ever cross the center median. The article says he climbed over the center median. That's makes it sound like it was a solid concrete divider. That divider prevented any southbound traffic from seeing the accident or him on the northbound side of the highway. Since no pedestrian traffic is ever allowed on the inside shoulder no drivers would have been looking there. Pedestrians would have been on thedrivers right on the outside shoulder.
Just after midnight, in the dark, climbing over the median and crossing from the inside shoulder.
If he had crossed the highway on the side he was on traffic might have seen the accident (if either car was able to have any lights on) and expected people to be in the area.
Crossing the road in that area meant crossing eight lanes of traffic. There are all night rest stops on the road but none in that area. So why he made the foolish decision to leave his car? Who knows.
Do Do happens. As a whole it affects 99% of the people here not at all. Hundreds of people this age or younger die each and everyday. The only reason this made it was it was a slow news day. Its sad yes but guess what all of you will be here tomorrow again
An interesting and yet saddening fact.
Poor man, such a sad way to leave the world. He was probaly, as some have already said, just trying to cross the road for help or something. I wonder if he had a phone, and if it was working or not- for he could've called for help.
Wrecking your car means God hates your ass. Getting ran over moments later is confirmation.
Any theories on the car crash itself? Just curious of your ideas.
That time of night. One car accident. Yeah, the drunks will flee those. He was probably crossing over to the other side because he noticed a business open and needed to call a taxi to take him home so he could report the car stolen in the morning. Who knows.
Good idea, still I wonder if he had a phone or not.
excuse me, my mistake, of course if he had a phone he would've called someone, at least if it was working. Although in theory if he was drunk, he may have not thought of this.
Sad story all the same.
Regardless of why the victim tried to cross the freeway it is a reminder to everyone that one should never attempt it, especially at night. We live near US 101 in Santa Barbara and an average of 3-4 people a year are killed this way - usually pedestrians trying to take a short cut from one side to the other. Drunk or sober, the human brain can't accurately gauge the velocity and distance of approaching high-speed vehicles. This is typically why people get killed by trains - which superficially seems really stupid.
a good point,
Thats exactly correct. People cannot judge speed and distance in these cases. It is a very common accurance in many cities. Drunks cannot articulate both math and distance at the same time on top of that.. Thinking is too stressful.
in theory he might have hurt his head and as not thinking, or maybe was drunk. There are many possibilities and yet no clear answer.
Do we ever get a clear answer on anything from our media ? Or even an accurate one?
Funny but true
So you think the investigation into a fatal mva is going to be over in an hour? Here's a hint. This isn't TV.
Oh no I agree with you- totally. The news tries to deliver information as quickly as they can, and slowly more information will continue to come forth. I know that. It's just sometimes its unclear, which was all that I was agreeing too. Although I bet the reason of the car crash and some other questions will be answered pretty soon here.