Two Cedar Rapids people identified in Walford double fatality

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday identified the man and woman who were involved in a domestic incident and killed Wednesday after crashing into an oncoming dump truck while fleeing from a deputy on Highway 151 north of Walford.

The driver of the Nissan Altima was Leo Alan Ray, 35, and his passenger was Stacey Lynn Watts, 35, both of Cedar Rapids, according to a news release.

The sheriff’s office received a domestic disturbance report just after noon involving the Altima with a male driver and a female passenger who was trying to jump out of the car.

A deputy found the car at about 12:33 p.m. driving south on 80th Street and attempted to stop the vehicle.

The driver didn’t stop and the deputy determined the driver was driving recklessly. The deputy stopped the pursuit near the Highway 151 intersection with Wright Brothers Boulevard, the news release stated.

About a minute later, the deputy noticed flying debris from what appeared to be a collision, the sheriff’s office told The Gazette.

The crash happened when the driver lost control and the car moved into the oncoming lane, crashing almost head-on with a Kenworth dump truck near 300 Highway 151 on the outskirts of Walford.

Both Ray and Watts were ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The dump truck driver was not injured.

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