Port Orchard man killed in Sunday crash

A 23-year-old Port Orchard man was killed in a car accident early Sunday morning, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s office reported.

The Kitsap County Coroner’s Office identified the victim Monday as Joshua D. Smith of Port Orchard.

Smith was killed in the 1988 Honda Civic he was driving southbound on Bethel-Burley Road when his car rear-ended a 1997 Volkswagen Jetta, also traveling southbound.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the driver of the Jetta, an 18-year-old South Kitsap woman, was attempting to make a left-hand turn into a residence around 1:30 a.m. Nov. 1 when Smith’s vehicle approached at a “high-rate of speed.”

The Honda attempted to pass the Jetta on the left, but hit the driver’s side of the vehicle, veered to the left and struck a large tree on the east side of the road before coming to a stop.

The Jetta was sideswiped and continued for another 100 feet before stopping on the shoulder of the northbound lane.

Smith was declared deceased at the scene, and his passenger, a 20-year-old South Kitsap man, reportedly sustained “extensive injuries to his face and lower torso.” He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center and last listed in “critical condition.”

The driver of the Jetta and her two passengers, an 18-year-old SK woman and a 47-year-old SK woman, suffered less serious injuries. They were transported to St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor.

Investigators believe excessive speed was a factor in the collision, but it remains unknown whether alcohol or drugs were involved as toxicology results are pending.

Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson said that a dog escaped from one of the vehicles in the collision and was not located at the time. The dog is a white Pit Bull named Rayden that reportedly ran into the woods after the crash.

Anyone with information about the dog or collision is asked to contact Deputy Ken Dickinson at (360) 337-4634.

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