The name of man hit and killed while walking alongside a road in Latham over the weekend has been released. Jon Dougherty has more from Colonie police headquarters.
COLONIE, N.Y. -- A decorated veteran, 57-year-old Rudolph "Rudy" Seabron of Rome was in the Capital Region for a weekend drill at the National Guard Armory in Latham.
His weekend took a tragic turn when Colonie Police said he was hit by two vehicles while walking back to the base from a local bar on Watervliet Shaker Road.
"Evidence that we have pretty much shows that he was hit standing up the first time and ended up laying in the street. With the car parts, there's no doubt that another vehicle was involved," said Colonie Police Lt. Kenneth Pero.
Lt. Pero said the first vehicle that hit Seabron left the scene and has yet to be found. Police describe it as a 2013 to 2016 Mazda CX-5 SUV. Police have not determined what color it was.
Investigators said the driver of the second car that hit him called 911 and has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
"At this time, we're investigating and analyzing car parts that we found at the scene that did not match up to the second vehicle that stayed at the scene," Lt. Pero said.
Seabron was a master sergeant with the New York National Guard and a member of the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade in Latham. The Rome native joined the National Guard in 1996 after serving in the Marine Corps and has served three tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
"He's been protecting this country for many, many years, and for him to go out this way is not right," said Lt. Pero. "Whoever hit him should definitely call me, get it off their conscience, because it's going to be on their conscience for the rest of their life."
Pero said officers are checking with local auto dealers around the area to see if anyone has come in to fix their car or has seen anything. They're also asking for the public's help for anyone who may have seen anything around the time of the crash.