It took days, but the recent stretch of winter storms and foul weather Monday claimed a life in Kitsap County.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Regina Mills, 44, an aircraft handling officer aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), was killed Monday while trying to help a motorcyclist who had lost control on an icy stretch of State Route 16.
Mills was hit as she stood near a state trooper and another person standing on the shoulder near Port Orchard when a pickup truck slid out of control.
“Tasked with ensuring optimum safety on board an aircraft carrier, an inherently dangerous environment, she died as a result of trying to assist a person faced with potential danger. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family,” said Capt. Paul O. Monger, USS Nimitz commanding officer.
Authorities said, that Mills drove her car onto the shoulder of the road near the Burnham Drive exit when she saw the motorcyclist’s bike lying on its side in the right lane of the roadway. Several other cars were also stuck on the shoulder when Mills arrived.
Trooper Maxwell Criss of the Washington State Patrol was at the scene shortly after receiving the 5 a.m. call of a multi-vehicle collision. Criss and Mills helped the motorcyclist to the right shoulder when a pick-up truck approaching the scene swerved and knocked several other cars into the shoulder, said Trooper Guy Gill, spokesman for the Washington State Patrol.
One vehicle struck the group, killing Mills. Criss sustained injuries on his knee, shoulder and face. The motorcyclist received “minor injuries,” according to the state patrol press release.
In total, seven vehicles were involved in the early morning collision.
“So many cars were hit and on the side of that road, it’s still being put together by investigators how,” said Gill, spokesman for the Washington State Patrol.
Gill said that there were many factors in the accident. The road conditions that morning were “poor” and all the vehicles involved were not equipped with snow chains or tires.
“Those quick freezes we get from 4 to 6 a.m. catch a lot of people off guard,” Gill said.
Washington State Department of Transportation came through those roads as soon as the accident was cleared to melt the ice and put “product down for traction,” Gill added.
Speed was a factor as well, Gill explained. Though the speed limit on that stretch of roadway is 50 mph, he cautioned that during this time of year, everyone should be increasing their following distance and reducing their overall speed.
Criss is recovering at home. The department expects that it will “take a little while before he gets back on the street.”
The details of a memorial service for Mills by the USS Nimitz command is still being planned, said Sheila Murray, spokeswoman for Navy Region Northwest. Mills’ hometown was Louisville, Ky.
“Regina was a great leader and officer. She was a leader and mentor not only to the sailors and officers in the Air Department, but throughout the ship,” Monger said. “It would be difficult to find anyone aboard Nimitz whose life or career here wasn’t positively influenced by her.”
