One person died and four others were injured in a three-vehicle accident early Friday afternoon, Jan. 20 on State Route 19. None of the victims are from Jefferson County.
John T. Strader, 66, from …
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A man from Whidbey Island died when the vehicle he was driving (pictured) crossed the centerline and struck a delivery truck Friday, Jan. 20 on State Route 19 in Beaver Valley. Four other people were injured in what became a three-vehicle accident. Photo courtesy Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue
One person died and four others were injured in a three-vehicle accident early Friday afternoon, Jan. 20 on State Route 19. None of the victims are from Jefferson County.
John T. Strader, 66, from the Whidbey Island community of Freeland, died in the accident, according to trooper Russ Winger of the Washington State Patrol (WSP). Strader was driving a brown 1997 Infiniti QX4 four-door sedan northbound (toward Port Townsend) on SR 19. The man's identity was not made public until Jan. 23.
The accident's cause remains under investigation.
The WSP reported that Brayan Valez Torres, 22, of Tacoma was driving a white 2005 GMC W4500 box truck southbound. Trailing the box truck was Albino Reyes Ramos, 24, of Bremerton, driving a gray 1990 Honda Accord four-door sedan.
At about 1:19 p.m., Jan. 20, the Infiniti sedan crossed the centerline into the southbound lane and struck the box truck, 3 miles north of the SR 19 intersection with SR 104, according to the state patrol's incident report.
After the collision, the Infiniti came to rest in the roadway. The box truck went to the right and came to rest down an embankment on the highway's west side. The southbound Honda swerved to the right to avoid the collision and overturned down the same embankment.
Torres, the truck driver, and A. Ramos, the Honda driver, were each transported by aid car to Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend.
Two passengers in Ramos' Honda were injured: Luis Maturino-Morales, 43, of Tacoma and Horacio Reyes Ramos, 19, of Bremerton. They were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Both were treated and released that same day.
All the survivors were wearing safety restraints; it's unknown whether Strader was belted in, according to the state patrol. All three vehicles were totaled; they were towed to the impound lot at All City Autobody in Port Townsend.
Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue, East Jefferson Fire Rescue, Quilcene Fire Rescue, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and Engine 91 from NAVMAG Indian Island responded to the call.
The highway was closed until Friday evening while the state patrol investigated.
The Jan. 20 incident represents the first traffic-related fatality in Jefferson County in 2017. There were three traffic-related deaths here in 2016 and eight in 2015, according to information from the WSP and Washington State Department of Transportation.
