A SUNY New Paltz student from the Big Apple was fatally mowed down by a hit-and-run driver while walking along a state highway near campus Tuesday, authorities said.
Ray Rattray, 22, was walking home from a class around 5:11 p.m. on the shoulder of the southbound lane of Route 208 when he was struck by a driver traveling in the same direction, the Ulster County Sheriffâs Office said.
His body was found in the woods almost a day later about 20 feet from the road.
The vehicle that plowed into Rattray is a dark-colored sedan that sustained front-end damage on the passenger side, the sheriffâs office said.
âOur community mourns the loss of Ray Rattray, who died tragically in a hit-and-run incident off campus on Jan. 23,â SUNY New Paltz said in a statement, describing him as a âfriend to many fellow New Paltz Hawks.
Rattray was a philosophy major and part of the menâs rugby club.
A memorial site has been set up on campus where flowers and other commemorations can be placed in his memory, the school said.
âWe extend our deepest sympathy to Raymondâs family and friends and to the faculty and staff who had the privilege to know him,â SUNY New Paltz President Darrell Wheeler said in a note to the school community, according to the Times Union.
The Ulster Sheriffâs Department is getting help from state police, as well as the district attorneyâs office and New Paltz authorities as the investigation is ongoing.
