A 56-year-old Trenton man died after being struck by a van while walking in the middle of a southbound lane of State Route 12 on Thursday night, prompting a hours-long closure of the highway as investigators reconstructed the crash. Aaron Sosnowski was pronounced dead at the scene near Mappa Avenue, and the driver who struck him stopped, called 911 and stayed until law enforcement arrived.
According to Country Herald, road patrol deputies were dispatched around 10:15 p.m. on October 8 to State Route 12 and Mappa Avenue after reports of an adult male walking in the roadway, a detail also noted in a Newport Dispatch report that credited Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol with reporting the fatality. When deputies arrived, they found a deceased man lying in the southbound lane of Route 12.
Investigators determined that Sosnowski was walking in the middle of the southbound lane when he was struck by a white 2018 GMC utility van also traveling south, the outlet's report states. The driver was identified as 24-year-old Tyreke Baxter of Watertown. The same account notes that Baxter stopped immediately after the collision, called 911 and remained at the scene until deputies arrived.
Multiple Agencies Responded to the Scene
The sheriff's office Criminal Investigation Unit and Forensic Identification Unit both responded to assist with the investigation, the report says. New York State Police, the Barneveld Fire Department and the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office also assisted at the scene, according to the same account.
State Route 12 was closed for a stretch while sheriff's office members conducted crash reconstruction work, a process that typically keeps a roadway shut for hours as investigators measure and document the scene. As of Saturday, authorities had not announced any charges or identified additional contributing factors in the crash, and the sheriff's office said the investigation remained ongoing.
Pattern of Pedestrian Deaths on Regional Highways
Sosnowski's death adds to a string of pedestrian and vehicle fatalities reported on Route 12 and nearby highways in the region over roughly the past year and a half. A driver died in the Town of Hamilton in May after a vehicle left Route 12 and struck a guardrail, according to WKTV, and in April 2025 another person died after their car left the road and hit a bridge post in Deerfield, also along Route 12, per the Observer-Dispatch.
Pedestrians specifically have been struck and killed elsewhere in Oneida County this year as well. In August, a pedestrian was struck in a crash in Camden that drew the same sheriff's office Criminal Investigations and Forensic Identification units seen in Trenton, as reported by the Observer-Dispatch. Around the same time, Daniele Muratore, 51, of Rome, died after being hit by a vehicle involved in a two-car crash, syracuse.com reported. In Jefferson County, New York State Police identified a pedestrian killed after being struck by an SUV while walking along a road in Champion, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.
No further updates on Sosnowski's case had been released as of Saturday, and the sheriff's office has not said when the investigation might conclude.
