Seven people died in traffic-related incidents in North Kitsap in 2012.
FEBRUARY
A Port Ludlow woman was killed Feb. 28 when she was run over by a car in the Poulsbo First Lutheran Church parking lot. Investigators determined it was an accident; Deputy Police Chief Wendy Davis said weather and parking lot lighting may have been factors. The driver, an 82-year-old Poulsbo woman, was not charged.
The driver was trying to park her vehicle when she struck and drove over Cheryl L. Penttila, 64. The women were at the church to attend a Kitsap Quilters meeting.
MARCH
A man died March 27 after he was struck by a car on Highway 305 near Seminole Road.
Matthew G. Lowen, 30, of Port Angeles was found unconscious in the middle of the highway about 9:15 p.m., according to Washington State Patrol. Lowen was reportedly walking on the center skip line on 305 and walked into the southbound lane, where he was struck by a Honda CRV. The driver, of Bainbridge Island, was not cited.
AUGUST
A Jefferson County man died and a Suquamish man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries following a vehicle crash late Aug. 22, between Suquamish and Poulsbo.
According to a Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office report, Wayne D. Stewart, 41, of Chimacum, was driving a Ford Windstar van southbound on Columbia Street with the Suquamish man, age 24.
The crash was reported at 9:38 p.m., just south of the intersection of Columbia Street and Lincoln Road. According to the report, the van left the roadway, crashed through a fence and struck a large tree. The passenger was ejected through the windshield, and Stewart, the driver, was partially ejected. Stewart and his passenger were not wearing seatbelts, authorities said.
NOVEMBER
Three people — including a couple known for fostering children and helping people overcome addictions — died Nov. 14 in a two-car head-on collision on Highway 104 near Balmoral Place NE in Kingston.
The State Patrol identified the deceased as Robin N. Bishop, 59, of Kingston, the lone occupant of a 1994 Lexus; and Anthony A. Adams and Marian D. Sparks, both 44, of Little Boston, the occupants of a 1985 Ford Escort. All were declared dead at the scene.
The crash occurred at about 7 p.m.
According to the State Patrol, Bishop was driving westbound on 104 when her vehicle crossed the center line and struck the Ford Escort, which was headed eastbound and was driven by Adams. The impact redirected Adams’ car toward the southwest shoulder and both vehicles ended up in the ditch.
According to State Patrol, Adams was the only one of the three wearing a seatbelt.
DECEMBER
A man was killed and his female passenger was rushed to a local hospital after an early morning crash Dec. 10 on Miller Bay Road between Kingston and Suquamish.
Kitsap County Coroner Greg Sandstrom identified the man as Benjamin J. McLain, 27, of Suquamish.
North Kitsap Fire & Rescue crews were called to the crash near the road’s intersection with Orseth Road at 4:38 a.m. Arriving at the scene, they found a silver Mitsubishi crashed into a power pole and McLain, the driver, dead, NKF&R spokeswoman Michele Laboda reported. Firefighters attempted to get an Airlift Northwest helicopter to transport the passenger but, because of weather conditions, could not.
The passenger, a 27-year-old woman from Suquamish, was taken to Harrison Medical Center with serious injuries, said Deputy Ken Dickenson, sheriff’s spokesman.
Deputies believe the Mitsubishi was traveling southbound on Miller Bay Road and for an unknown reason began to rotate out of control. The vehicle then left the roadway, striking a utility pole before falling 10 feet down an embankment.
