BANGOR – The driver of a truck that struck and killed a civilian employee of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest is being cited for driving too fast for the conditions of the roadway.

The driver is on active duty in the military, according to NAVFAC spokeswoman Leslie Yuenger.

Trooper Russ Winger, spokesman for Washington State Patrol, which investigated the July 23 crash, said investigators could find no evidence that the driver was negligent. The Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney’s office declined to prosecute.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Claire Bradley said, “The Washington State Patrol did an amazing job on the investigation. The [driver] was very cooperative and even let troopers do an experimental accident reconstruction with the vehicle. It just really didn’t rise to negligence or disregard for others.”

The driver was heading northbound on Scorpion Avenue and turning right onto Sculpin Circle at Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor when he lost control of the vehicle. The truck struck Sandra S. Vicks, 55, who had been walking with a co-worker on the sidewalk. She was approaching the road when the truck swerved and she tried to jump out of the way, Winger said. She died at Harrison Medical Center.

The crash occurred at 1:09 p.m., according to Washington State Patrol. The roadway was slick because of rain — the first rain in several weeks. The driver was driving below the 30 mph speed limit and went around the corner at 17 mph. “The rear end lost traction and he overcorrected,” Winger said. The truck did not go onto the sidewalk, he said.

The driver of the truck was not impaired, Winger said, and Bradley said investigators checked the driver’s cell phone to see if he had been driving while distracted. He had not, she said.

“It’s really an unfortunate series of events,” Bradley said, adding, “It was purely an unfortunate accident.”

According to her obituary, Vicks worked for the Navy for 32 years, most recently at NAVFAC NW, and was a member of the local dance troupe, the Samara Dancers. An informal gathering took place in her memory on Aug. 10 at Miller Woodlawn Funeral Home in Bremerton.