Police investigate death of Elkhorn woman struck on Interstate 43
PrintELKHORN--Police are investigating the death of a 65-year-old Elkhorn woman whose body was struck by a vehicle on Interstate 43 near the Highway 67 overpass early Sunday morning.
The woman was lying in the Interstate when she was struck by an SUV driven by a 25-year-old Sharon man, Elkhorn Police Chief Joel Christensen said.
Investigators are hoping results of an autopsy conducted Monday will indicate whether the woman was hit by another vehicle before the SUV, Christensen said.
The woman's car was found nearby parked along Highway 67.
“We're trying to find out exactly how she came to be in the roadway itself,” Christensen said.
No arrests have been made or citations issued pending the investigation, he said.
Christensen declined to release the woman's name Tuesday afternoon, saying he wasn't sure if all of her family members had been notified of her death.
He also declined to identify the SUV driver, citing the pending investigation.
The SUV driver told police he was following a semitrailer truck in the fog about 12:22 a.m. Sunday. The semi swerved to miss what the semi driver later described to police as an object in the road, but the SUV driver was not able to miss the woman, Christensen said.
Both the semi and SUV drivers stopped to call police.
Police want to know if the woman had been struck earlier by another vehicle and are reviewing video from a dashboard camera in the semi.
“It's difficult to see. There may be an indication of brake lights in front of that semi before the semi came upon it,” Christensen said.
Investigators are working to learn the woman's whereabouts before the crash. She had been home Saturday evening, Christensen said.