KINGSTON — Kitsap County Sheriff’s investigators had not completed their investigation late this week of a fatal collision on July 4 between a North Kitsap Fire & Rescue engine and a Yamaha scooter, at Miller Bay and West Kingston roads.
The driver of the scooter — identified as Jason T. Foster, 48, of Kingston — was declared dead at the scene.
The firefighter who was driving the engine has been with the department for two years; a second firefighter aboard the engine has been with the department for 15 years, according to NKF&R. The firefighters were not injured and have been placed off duty during the investigation, according to NKF&R.
The crash was reported at 11:02 a.m.
Foster was traveling north on Miller Bay Road, according to a preliminary report from the sheriff’s office. The fire engine, driven by a 36-year-old firefighter, was traveling southbound on Miller Bay Road.
The fire engine slowed in the intersection in order to make a left turn onto West Kingston Road. The scooter and engine collided in the middle of the intersection, according to the report.
The scooter and the front left of the fire engine collided.
The intersection and nearby portions of Miller Bay and West Kingston roads were closed until about 5 p.m.
The sheriff’s office is analyzing witness statements, measurements, photo documentation, analysis of the traffic signal at the intersection, and other evidence, sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson said.
Investigators were waiting for the results of an autopsy as of July 10, which will include a toxicology test from the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. That test may take several weeks, according to Wilson. Investigators are also working on calculations to determine speed, time and distance factors for the scooter, and a completion of a computer-aided design drawing of the scene.
The intersection of Miller Bay and West Kingston roads is a three-way intersection. The left turn lane on the north side of the intersection cycles between a green light, yellow flashing (yield) light, and red light. The fire engine was driving from that left turn lane during the time of the crash.
