Driver whose car hit, killed Interstate 80 pedestrian identified

The Iowa State Patrol has located the driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident on Interstate 80 near Tiffin Feb. 13, officials said today.

Shortly after state officials began asking for the public's help in finding information about the crash, Randall Nelson, 53, of Otley reported that he believed he may have been the driver involved. Evidence located at the scene confirmed that Nelson's 2006 Impala was involved in the crash.

The Johnson County Attorney's Office will determine whether Nelson will face any charges in the crash.

Maxwell James Wallace, 18, of Iowa City was killed after he was struck while walking in the westbound lanes of I-80, near mile marker 238, west of the I-80 and I-380 interchange, just before midnight Saturday.

The vehicle that hit him did not stop at the scene, and officials said at the time that the driver may not have realized that he or she struck a person.

After Wallace was fatally injured by the first vehicle, he was then struck by a second vehicle, a 2002 Ford Explorer. The driver of the second vehicle, Loretta Masterson of North English, stopped at the scene and called 911. No charges are expected to be filed against her, officials said.

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, 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 the vehicle that didn't stop at the scene.