DRIVER FOUND IN EASTERN IOWA HIT AND RUN
Iowa Department of Public Safety
Otley Man named in incident
Tiffin, IOWA — The Iowa State Patrol has located the driver involved in a February 13, 2011, hit and run on I-80 near Tiffin, Iowa. Shortly after the Department of Public Safety’s Division of the Iowa State Patrol began soliciting information on the incident, 53 year old Randall Nelson of Otley, Iowa reported that he believed he may have been the driver involved. Evidence located at the scene confirmed that it was his vehicle.
The Iowa State Patrol and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office want to thank the many citizens who called in and offered their help and assistance in this investigation.
Shortly after midnight, in the early hours of Sunday, February 13, 2011, Maxwell James Wallace, age 18 of Iowa City was killed after he was struck while walking in the westbound lanes, near mile marker 238. The location is just west of the I-80 and I-380 interchange and the City of Coralville.
After Wallace was fatally injured by Nelson’s 2006 Chevy Impala, he was then struck by a second vehicle, a 2002 Ford Explorer. The driver of the second vehicle, Loretta Masterson of North English, did stop at the scene and called 911. Masterson has been cleared of any wrongdoing and no charges are expected to be filed against her.
Investigators believe Wallace was on foot in the area because he had been a passenger in a 2000 Dodge Intrepid driven by a friend, Vivianna Peak, age 18, of North Liberty. According to investigators, Wallace got out of the car near the westbound Tiffin exit ramp. He then walked back down the ramp to I-80 where he walked into traffic and was nearly struck by two drivers, both of whom stopped and called 911. He was then struck by Nelson.
The investigation into this incident continues and any decision on charges against Mr. Nelson will be made by the Johnson County Attorney.
Also assisting the Iowa State Patrol and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office are personnel from the Department of Transportation (Oakdale), the Coralville Police Department, and the Johnson County Medical Examiner.
Source: Iowa DPS
