Two wrecks on SR-16 during slick Tuesday commute

Drivers not slowing down enough to navigate South Kitsap’s snowy roads caused at least two wrecks in the span of an hour Tuesday morning, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Around 6:24 a.m. Jan. 27, the first accident occurred on westbound State-Route 16 near Tremont Street. It involved three cars and began when a 23-year-old Port Orchard woman driving a blue, 1998 Toyota pick-up “spun out in the snow” and pulled over to the highway shoulder.

When a WSP sergeant pulled over to assist the first driver, a third driver — a 30-year-old Port Orchard man driving a red, 1997 Jeep Wrangler — lost control of his vehicle and struck the trooper’s Chevrolet Tahoe, pushing it into the first vehicle.

The sergeant suffered a sore neck and back following the collision and was transported to Tacoma General Hospital.

The other two drivers were uninjured, and all three cars were driven from the scene.

The trooper investigating the first accident noted that the cause was “driving too fast for conditions” and that charges were pending.

The second collision Tuesday morning occurred 30 minutes later at 6:57 a.m. also on westbound SR-16, but near the Mullinex Road exit.

It involved one car, a 2000 Suzuki driven by a 66-year-old Federal Way man, which was reportedly traveling at too fast of a speed.

The car struck snow, slid into the nearby lane, then struck the median before rolling three times and into the opposite lanes of travel. The vehicle came to rest in the eastbound lanes of SR-16, blocking one lane of traffic.

Both occupants were wearing their seatbelts. The 66-year-old driver suffered head and back injuries and was transported to Tacoma General Hospital. His 56-year-old female passenger, also of Federal Way, was not injured.

The car was totaled, and charges of “driving too fast for conditions” are pending.

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