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Leo Alan Ray

Age : 35

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 09/08/2021

Location : 300 block of U.S. Highway 151

City : Walford

County : Linn

State : Iowa

Agency : Linn County Sheriff's Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Domestic disturbance involving a female passenger reportedly attempting to jump from a moving vehicle. At approximately 12:04 p.m., the Linn County Sheriff’s Office received a report involving a man driving a blue Nissan Altima and a woman inside the vehicle attempting to jump out. A deputy located the Altima traveling at excessive speed and attempted to stop it.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 09/08/2021, 35-year-old Leo Alan Ray of Cedar Rapids was killed with his passenger, 35-year-old Stacey Lynn Watts, after Ray crashed into an oncoming dump truck shortly after a Linn County sheriff’s deputy terminated a police pursuit north of Walford.
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At approximately 12:04 p.m., the sheriff’s office received a domestic-disturbance call near 80th Street and Iowa Highway 100. The caller reported a man driving a blue Nissan Altima with a female passenger who was attempting to jump from the vehicle.
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At approximately 12:23 p.m., a Linn County deputy located the Altima traveling south on 80th Street north of E Avenue. The deputy reported that it was traveling at excessive speed and confirmed that the female passenger was still inside. The deputy activated the squad car’s emergency lights and attempted to stop the Altima. Ray continued driving away while the deputy pursued.
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The pursuit continued south on 80th Street to East Cemetery Road in Fairfax and then onto southbound U.S. Highway 151. At approximately 12:27 p.m., about four minutes after initially locating the Altima, the deputy determined that Ray’s driving had become too dangerous and terminated the pursuit near U.S. 151 and Wright Brothers Boulevard.
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Approximately one minute after terminating the pursuit, the deputy saw debris flying into the air farther south on U.S. 151 and proceeded to the crash scene. Ray had lost control of the Altima near the 300 block of U.S. 151, crossed the center line into opposing traffic and collided nearly head-on with a northbound Kenworth dump truck.
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Ray and Watts were both ejected from the Altima and pronounced dead at the scene. The dump-truck driver survived.
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Available reporting does not provide a measured maximum pursuit speed beyond describing the Altima as traveling at excessive speed when the deputy first encountered it. No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact was reported. The deputy had terminated the pursuit approximately one minute before the crash.
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The Iowa State Patrol investigated the fatal collision.
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Public reporting identifies Ray as a 35-year-old Cedar Rapids resident but provides little reliable biographical information about his life outside the circumstances surrounding the fatal encounter.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Linn County sheriff’s deputy who initiated and terminated the pursuit has not been publicly identified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.thegazette.com/crashes/2-cedar-rapids-residents-killed-in-walford-accident-following-police-chase/
https://www.kcrg.com/2021/09/08/two-killed-walford-crash-collision-happened-shortly-after-deputy-quit-chase-vehicle/
https://apnews.com/article/police-iowa-e4dee22543693c596c1bdb8b0c46d44b
https://www.kimt.com/news/iowa/sheriffs-office-says-two-people-killed-after-police-pursuit/article_03e37ebc-48c3-11ec-b1bb-2f3a1fc68d19.html
https://www.thegazette.com/crashes/2-killed-in-collision-with-dump-truck-near-walford/
https://www.thegazette.com/crime-courts/two-cedar-rapids-people-identified-in-walford-double-fatality/
https://www.kcrg.com/2021/09/08/fatal-crash-closes-hwy-151-north-walford/
https://www.wowt.com/2021/09/11/iowa-police-chase-ends-with-two-dead/
https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-sheriff-two-killed-in-crash-after-police-pursuit/37526954
https://www.thegazette.com/obituaries/stacey-lynn-watts/