MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio -- One driver is dead after a crash that shut down I-71 northbound for 90 minutes Thursday.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is currently investigating a three-vehicle fatal crash near the Pearl Road exit at approximately 10:04 a.m. Thursday.
Sandra Maddamma, 50, of Cleveland, Ohio was northbound on Interstate 71 in a green, 2009 Nissan Cube when she slowed for slow-moving traffic in the left lane.
Richard Radigan, 62, of North Ridgeville, Ohio was also northbound in the left lane of Interstate 71 in a yellow 2014 Freightliner tractor owned by Penske Trucking, pulling a 2013 Great Dane enclosed box trailer owned by XTRA LLC.
Adam Yonkovski, 29, of Ashland, Ohio was also northbound on Interstate 71 in the middle lane, ahead and to the right of Maddamma in a tan 2011 Chevrolet Cruze.
The scene investigation revealed that Radigan's tractor-trailer combination failed to stop within an assured clear distance ahead and struck Maddamma's Nissan Cube from behind. The impact pushed the Nissan into Yonkovski's Chevrolet Cruze.
Both of those vehicles remained on the roadway. After initial impact, Radigan's tractor-trailer traveled into the median, through a guardrail and came to rest on its wheels, parallel to the roadway.
Maddamma's Nissan Cube sustained heavy rear-end damage and Maddamma was wearing a seat belt. She was taken from the scene by Middleburg Heights EMS to Southwest General Hospital but she died as a result of her injuries.
Yonkovski's Chevrolet Cruze sustained disabling damage to the left rear but he was not injured. Radigan's commercial vehicle received heavy damage to the front bumper and grille area but he was also uninjured.
OSHP says the reason Radigan struck the Nissan, and the events leading up to the death of Maddamma, remain under investigation at this time.
The affected section of Interstate 71 northbound was temporarily closed and traffic was diverted onto Pearl Road for approximately 90 minutes before the right lanes of the interstate were re-opened to traffic.
The left lane remained closed through the early afternoon hours as crews worked to process and clear the scene.
Middleburg Heights Police, Fire and EMS, as well as the Ohio Department of Transportation and Freeway Safety Patrol, assisted the Ohio State Highway Patrol at the scene.
This is the 8th traffic fatality in Cuyahoga County in 2015.
