ALBANY, N.Y. -- Early Saturday morning, Albany police officers arrived to Washington Park Road for an apparent hit and run. The victim, 21-year-old Rajine Martinez, is a former University at Albany student.
Her loved ones have created a memorial in her honor. A tree in the park now displays pictures of Martinez, flowers, and candles: all to show how adored she was.
On Facebook, a post from Camp Scully reads “Today is a sad day for everyone connected to Camp Scully. One of the most fun and sassy campers grew in to one of the best counselors at Camp. She was sadly taken from us this morning. We love you Rajine! Rest in peace.”
For those who spend time in Washington Park, they wish more could have been done to prevent this tragedy.
“It used to be a much safer park,” said Mike Kelly, a longtime Albany resident.
Kelly has lived near the park for 17 years. He walks his dog there daily and says people driving over the speed limit is something he sees often.
“It’s a park. You need to enforce the 20 miles per hour speed limit. This guy here, they’re going faster than 20 miles per hour,” Kelly said, as a car passed by.
Kelly says he reached out to the Albany Mayor’s Office about two weeks ago with concerns about the area including park safety. Though it’s unclear at this time if speed was a factor in the tragic crash that killed Martinez, Kelly believes there are still improvements to be made.
“It’s sad that it had to come to this,” said Kelly.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the Albany Police Department at 462-8039.