The body of 19-year-old Joseph J. Ozimek III was found shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday, the apparent victim of a hit and run, according to Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin E. Walsh.
Ozimek was found several feet from Route 57 near the intersection of Willowbrook Drive, where he was apparently thrown after the crash. Sheriff’s deputies said he had left his job at McDonald’s near John Glenn Boulevard shortly after midnight and was walking along Route 57 when the accident occurred. It appears he was there for up to five hours before his body was discovered by a Centro Bus driver.
The make and model of the vehicle are unknown, but Walsh said it was traveling north along Route 57 when it drifted off the roadway and struck Ozimek. Deputies are asking anyone who may have been traveling in the area between midnight and 6 a.m. to call the sheriff’s department at 435-3081.
Ozimek was a senior at Liverpool High School, according to Liverpool Central School District Superintendent Dr. Richard Johns.
“The death of a loved one is always difficult, especially when the loved one is so young,” Johns said in an email to district residents. “Counselors will be on hand to help our students in any way that they can. Our thoughts go out to Joseph’s family.”
Johns could not be reached for further comment.
