CLEVELAND, Ohio — Neighbors on Cleveland's west side say recent road improvements appear to be paying off. In the early hours of Friday morning, a car fleeing state troopers crashed at the I-90E exit at West Blvd.
It's the same location where ODOT recently installed new curbs to protect homes near the exit.
Neighbor Jimmy Rivera said he could guess what happened before he came onto his front porch Friday morning.
“I heard somebody trying to put on the brakes and the sound of hitting something concrete. And I knew it had to be the exit of I-90," Rivera said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said no one was injured when a pursuit ended in the crash. It started around 2:30 a.m. Friday when troopers tried to pull over a speeding Volkswagen Atlas just south of S.R. 82 on northbound I-71 in Brunswick.
According to troopers, the vehicle was a rental carrying a group coming from a concert in Columbus.
The car took off, eventually exiting at W 130th St., then briefly making its way onto I-90E before crashing in a curb at the exit onto West Blvd.
The crash disabled the SUV, but no one was hurt. The driver got out and ran. 5 other passengers were detained at the scene, but eventually released from custody.
“People are going to keep on speeding. People are going to keep running from the police and something’s going to happen,” said Rivera.
He said flashing lights outside his West Blvd home are nothing new. He pointed to a scarred tree in his front yard and a dented side fence.
“Somebody just hit the back of that tree. On another occasion, somebody hit the fence,” he said.
Rivera's sister lives nextdoor. Both her and another neighbor said their homes have been hit by cars speeding through the exit on multiple occasions.
“My father, we were afraid of sitting him here because… a car coming out could hit him," Rivera said. "My sister had to do some changes inside the house.”
ODOT conducted a study at the exit ramp.
“The majority of people were coming at a high rate of speed, they didn’t realize that they could only turn right or left or maybe they were trying to beat the traffic light at the bottom,” said Amanda McFarland, an ODOT public information officer.
After years of safety concerns, the neighbors said the city of Cleveland and ODOT took steps to address the problem.
In October 2023, ODOT added a "splitter island," a concrete curb funneling traffic left and right. Additionally, a center island and new signage were placed near the West Blvd exit.
“It definitely has helped," Rivera said. "There’s more peace than before."
McFarland said between 2018-2022, there were 17 crashes at the exit. Neighbors recalled numerous their homes and property were hit in that time.
Since the safety improvements, ODOT has record 5 crashes, not including the one that happened Friday morning.
“I feel like 5 crashes over the last two years is a great improvement over the damage the residents had seen to their homes over the past several years,” McFarland said.
Rivera said the changes have given his family peace of mind.
"Definitely," he said. "And because we’ve seen other accidents of cars coming out and they have not hit the house, it’s definitely working much better than before.”
Troopers believe alcohol played a role in the Friday morning crash.
As of Friday evening, they were still looking for the driver that led them on the overnight chase.
