Police looking for witnesses to I-90 fatality
By Kevin Kelley
Westlake
Published April 30, 2008

Police wish to speak with the driver and passenger who witnessed a woman being hit while trying to cross I-90 the night of April 12. The two were in a van similar to the one pictured here. (Photo courtesy of Westlake Police)

Westlake Police want to speak with witnesses to an April 12 accident that killed an Elyria woman who was trying to cross I-90.

Police want to speak with the driver and passenger of a white van with a utility body who stopped at the scene of the accident. The two are not considered suspects, said Westlake Police Capt. Guy Turner, but may have important witness information that no one else has.

The fatality occurred around 11:15 p.m. near the Lorain County line. Ashley M. Palos, who was riding westbound on I-90 as a passenger with an 18-year-old Vermilion woman, reportedly became upset during the ride. When the driver stopped the car on the right shoulder, Palos exited the vehicle, police said.

Ashley M. Palos

Palos was in the right eastbound lane of I-90 when she was struck by a 2003 BMW driven by a 37-year-old Maple Heights man who was driving with his wife and teenage children.

The Vermilion woman told police she drove westbound to the next exit and turned around to look for her passenger. By the time she reached the area of the county line, Palos had already been struck, and police from Westlake and Avon were already on scene.

Palos was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident, police said.

Westlake Police released a recording of a 9-1-1 call made to Avon Police by the witness they want to speak to. The man, a passenger in the white van, told police the van swerved just before Palos was hit by the BMW.

“Some girl just ran across the highway,” the caller said in the recording. “She got hit. We swerved, missed her. But the car in the inside lane hit her.”

The caller or anyone recognizing the caller’s voice is asked to contact Westlake Police at (440) 871-3311.

A few minutes earlier, another motorist called 9-1-1 and told Avon Police of seeing the woman “stumbling” while walking eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-90.

CORRECTION: Contrary to what was reported in the April 23 issue of West Life, neither the Vermilion driver nor the BMW driver had consumed alcohol prior to the accident. The initial police statement was unclear as to whether either driver had consumed alcohol.