Fatal Crash on I-90 Still Under Investigation

The in Lakewood that killed a 61-year-old Cleveland man on Wednesday remains under investigation.

The black tire tracks across the center lanes of I-90 tell at least a portion of the story.

What is known is that Anthony Costello of Cleveland was driving a dump truck westbound on I-90 at McKinley Avenue at 11:43 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle.

According to witnesses and police at the scene, the front left tire on the truck blew out, and moments later Costello crashed the truck through the concrete median, sending chucks of concrete and debris into the eastbound lanes. 

The truck landed on its side, and the truck’s engine was catapulted from the vehicle. Costello died at the scene.

Traffic on I-90 was closed at the crash site for hours, and backed up for miles in both directions as motorists were rerouted.

Powell Caesar, spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office, said Costello's cause of death is still under investigation.

“We’ll have to do a full (toxicology) screen and everything,” he said. “So we won’t have much (information) until those are completed.”

The Lakewood Police Department is working with the Ohio Highway Patrol on the crash investigation.

Capt. Ed Hassing, of the Lakewood Police Department, said the crash could take weeks to sort out.

Preliminary findings rule out speed, alcohol and drugs as factors, he said, adding that Costello most likely lost control when he “over-corrected” the vehicle as the tire blew out.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

Only one car was headed eastbound when Costello’s truck crashed through the median. The motorist was able to avoid collision with the truck, Hassing said.

“It could have been a lot worse,” he said. “There could have been multiple (deaths) — the way the debris spread across those lanes.”