CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Division of Police is investigating a crash that left a 19-year-old woman dead Friday night.
Around 10:15 p.m., Ryleigh Schmitz, 19, was driving a motorcycle on Route 2 and attempted to merge onto I-90 West near Dead Man's Curve when she drove through the painted gore and crashed into a semi-tractor trailer, police said.
Kayden Paserk was leading the pack of bikers, including Ryleigh, when the accident happened.
Paserk told News 5 that at one point, he turned to look behind him and saw no one.
"Which is odd, you know. You should see one or two other people accelerating with us," said Paserk. "We slowed down and stopped on the side of the highway and me and my other friends saw the semi-truck drive past us, dragging her bike."
Schmitz was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.
Paserk said he is devastated by what he saw and the death of his good friend.
"She was just always a happy person...she wanted to be your friend. She wanted to get to know you. She wanted to ride with you," said Paserk.
Aurthur Oravec of Parma was also a good friend of Ryleigh. He said they went everywhere together, and her loss hurts.
"She was caring, fun to be around, fun to ride with, just a great person. She was always happy. There was never a bad day with her," Oravec said.
The driver of the semi was not injured, and the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
