Troopers trying to solve mystery after pedestrian killed in Portage County

PORTAGE COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) – State troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol are trying to piece together a sequence of events that ended Wednesday night with the tragic death of a pedestrian trying to cross Route 59 outside Ravenna.

How did a Ravenna woman, who was walking to work at the Walmart on Route 59 around 9:40 p.m., end up lying in the roadway when she was struck by a car driven by a 43-year-old man?

Investigators say the man later told them the accident was unavoidable.

“He saw her lying in the roadway, he attempted to swerve to miss her, but still struck her and that’s when he stopped,” said Lt. Erik Golias with OSHP.

The man was horrified and after pulling over, he tried to stop other drivers from hitting the victim. However, not before the driver of what he believes was a dark-colored pickup truck also struck 46-year-old Janet Lynn Slaughter.

The cooperating witness told troopers that the driver of the pickup slowed at the scene for a short time and then drove away.

Slaughter was pronounced dead at the scene and troopers say the second driver had a duty to stop.

“Even when you are not at fault, when you flee the scene of a crash without exchanging information that causes damage, but when it causes injuries, especially fatal injuries and you leave the scene of the crash, there are potential criminal charges that would need to be reviewed by a prosecutor,” said Golias.

FOX 8 asked the highway patrol if it is possible that Slaughter had first been struck by an unknown vehicle on Route 59 before the cooperating driver saw her lying in the roadway.

“At this point, anything is possible. We have no idea,” Lt. Golias said.

Investigators are searching for witnesses and checking video from nearby surveillance cameras to identify the driver of the pickup truck that fled the scene.

Meanwhile, the grieving family has started a GoFundMe page to help pay for Slaughter’s funeral. Troopers with the highway patrol say they owe the family answers to their questions about what happened to her.

“It’s not just the victim that lost her life, but the families that it affects,” Golias said.

Anyone with information about the accident and the hit-and-run driver is asked to call the Ravenna Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

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