One dead, one injured in crash near Ocean Shores

They struck another vehicle while attempting to overtake a slow driver

Editor’s note: the intial story incorrectly stated the age of the victim. It has been corrected.

A man was killed and a woman injured in a crash just after noon on Thursday on state Route 109 east of Hogan’s Corner near Ocean Shores.

The driver of a work van was going around a slow driver when a second vehicle, a Kia Soul, pulled out to attempt to overtake the slow driver, struck the corner of the van, and drove into a ditch, rolling several times, said Trooper Katherine Weatherwax of the Washington State Patrol. The cause of the crash is identified as unsafe passing in a state patrol report.

The passenger of the second vehicle, 73-year-old Ronald G. Chadwick of Ocean Shores, died as a result of injuries at the scene, Weatherwax said. The driver was injured and entrapped in the vehicle, which came to rest upside down in a swamp north of the highway, and had to be freed. There were several dogs in the vehicle, Weatherwax said, the disposition of which are unknown.

Responders attempted CPR on the passenger at the scene, Weatherwax said, but were unsuccessful. The driver was transported to Harbor Regional Health Community Hospital. The Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office confirmed the death of the passenger, releasing his name no Friday. The autopsy is pending, said County Coroner George Kelley in a news release.

The driver of the van was tested and cleared for impaired driving as a matter of procedure, Weatherwax said.

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.