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Family members examine the scene where Ashley Ramirez died early Thursday.

'It is Unacceptable'

Jason Whitely reports

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DALLAS — At age 22, Ashley Ramirez was the youngest of her family, a mother herself, and a ham for the camera.

Dealing with her death has been difficult.

"The disregard to leave half of her on the side of the highway is what's most traumatic for our family," said Julie Ortiz, Ashley's sister, with tears in her eyes.

Ramirez died early Thursday morning at Interstate 35E and Colorado Boulevard in a motorcycle wreck, but the Dallas County Medical Examiner left the scene without recovering all of her remains.

"Every one of us has been out there, and have all found something different still," Ortiz said. "It is unacceptable."

Ashley's family found large chunks of her skull, brain matter, and even her necklace. Most of it, they said, was inside the orange spray-painted circles investigators marked but never picked up.

The medical examiner did not return two calls from News 8 Friday afternoon, but the office is apologizing.

"This happens rarely, and it's usually in cases where the injuries are severe," Mary Brownlee, a supervisor, told The Dallas Morning News. "I've instructed our investigators, and if they feel like there's a possibility — because of the darkness — that they weren't able to retrieve everything that they should, please notify me and we will return at daylight."

The crash scene is directly under a street light.

"How can professionals leave a scene like that?," asked Ray Estrada, Ashley's brother. "It's beyond words."

The medical examiner returned Friday morning and retrieved the rest of the remains — or so Ashley's family thought.

News 8 discovered another piece of skull and brain matter still at the scene in the grass. Her brothers collected it in a plastic bag.

They are dismayed — yet determined — not to leave their little sister on the side of the road.

Dallas Morning News staff writer Tanya Eiserer contributed to this report.

E-mail jwhitely@wfaa.com