A woman was struck and killed by a northbound vehicle during rush hour on state Route 8 Monday afternoon after getting out of her vehicle and running across traffic.
About 10 cars were involved in crashes that occurred in both directions north of East Tallmadge Avenue as a result of the incident, which happened shortly after 4 p.m., police said. Traffic was backed up for miles late Monday afternoon after northbound and southbound lanes were closed.
Akron police reported the woman was in a southbound vehicle with her husband when an argument erupted. The woman left her vehicle, ran east across the southbound lane, climbed over the divider and was headed east across the northbound lane when she was struck by a Nissan pickup truck.
Callers reported several cars avoided the woman before she was struck.
The woman was dead when police arrived. Police identified her as a 43-year-old from Canton.
Authorities didn’t release her name pending an autopsy scheduled for Tuesday morning by the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Cuyahoga Falls resident Jim Heeman was driving northbound from work when he saw the woman’s body against the median before emergency vehicles arrived.
“I looked to the left and there was a red pickup facing south that was pretty dented up,” he said. “It was obvious it was high-impact trauma. If I had left three minutes earlier, I could have hit her.”
No other serious injuries were reported. At about 5 p.m., the southbound lanes reopened. The northbound lanes remained closed at East Tallmadge Avenue until about 7 p.m.
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com.