Coroner IDs men killed in Barstow I-15 exit pedestrian collisions

Charlie McGee, Victorville Daily Press
·2 min read
Daniel Ambriz, 43, and Drew Ramey, 39, were respectively killed on Dec. 31 and Jan. 8 in the area of an I-15 overpass on Barstow's East Main Street.
Daniel Ambriz, 43, and Drew Ramey, 39, were respectively killed on Dec. 31 and Jan. 8 in the area of an I-15 overpass on Barstow's East Main Street.

Two men who recently died on a high-traffic Interstate 15 exit in Barstow have been identified by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's coroner.

Daniel Ambriz, 43, and Drew Ramey, 39, were killed within a week of each other — Dec. 31 and Jan. 8 — in the area of an I-15 overpass on Barstow's East Main Street, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Coroner Division website.

The Barstow men were killed in separate incidents after being hit by vehicles late at night.

The California Highway Patrol got a call around 2:10 a.m. Dec. 31 about Ambriz walking across traffic lanes of northbound Interstate 15, just south of East Main Street, within Barstow's city limits.

He then walked into the path of a 2019 Cadillac CTS, driven by a 24-year-old Lakewood man, according to CHP. Ambriz died at the scene.

An obituary published earlier this month includes a request from his family that people consider a donation in Ambriz's name to the Wounded Warrior Project or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

A week after Ambriz's death, Ramey was found unconscious in the East Main Street roadway near the I-15 exits and given CPR by Barstow first responders, but he died at the scene. Barstow Detective Austyn Willis took over the investigation, and closed off both sides of the I-15 overpass for several hours.

Officers spoke with the driver of a vehicle that hit Ramey, Eric Zinn. The 42-year-old man showed signs of "being under the influence of alcohol," according to detectives.

Zinn was arrested and booked that night into High Desert Detention Center. Officers booked him on suspicion of murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, but he was released from jail on Jan. 10, according to booking records.

Charlie McGee covers California’s High Desert for the Daily Press, focusing on the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities. He is also a Report for America corps member with The GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Coroner IDs people killed in alleged car strikes at Barstow I-15 exit