Police had talked to man killed at Interstate 380 off-ramp, officials say

LINN COUNTY - The Hiawatha Police Department had contact with a Cedar Rapids man before he was killed in a car-pedestrian collision Thursday night off Interstate 380.

However, the circumstances of that contact are not yet known.

The Linn County Sheriff's Office on Friday identified the man killed at the County Home Road off-ramp on the interstate as 34-year-old Jesse P. Eaton. Authorities have said Eaton was crossing the off-ramp when he was hit by a vehicle exiting the interstate.

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said his accident reconstructionists are still investigating Eaton's death, including why he was walking on the off-ramp to begin with. Gardner did disclose that a Hiawatha police officer had contact with Eaton before the fatal collision. Gardner is not releasing what that contact entailed, however.

'We're not going to release the nature of the contact until we've concluded our investigation,” Gardner said.

Gardner said the officer was still on the scene when the fatal crash occurred. His investigators will interview the officer, Gardner said.

Hiawatha Police Chief Dennis Marks could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday morning.

An autopsy on Eaton is underway, Gardner said. He estimated it will be several weeks before the autopsy is complete, as the medical examiner will have to await the results of a toxicology screen, which would show whether Eaton was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his death.

'There are a lot of unanswered questions,” Gardner said. 'We'll get to the bottom of this.”

The Monroe Fire Department, Iowa State Patrol and Area Ambulance also responded to the crash.