Lakewood man killed in wrong-way traffic collision that injured others near Auburn
A Lakewood man died in a three-vehicle traffic collision Tuesday afternoon on state Route 18 near Auburn, the Washington State Patrol said.
Troopers said a driver was going the wrong way on westbound state Route 18 when the crash occurred. It was reported at 4:50 p.m. near Southeast 304th Street, according to a news release from State Patrol. It’s unknown if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.
The wrong-way driver, 39-year-old Matthew Peasly, of Lakewood, was killed.
Peasly was driving east in the westbound lanes of state Route 18 when he struck the front left of a Toyota Tacoma and continued driving the wrong direction, according to the release. The driver of the Toyota pulled over to the shoulder and called 911.
Then, Peasly’s car struck another vehicle in lane two. Peasly’s car came to a rest in a ditch on the left shoulder, and the other vehicle came to a stop in its lane facing the wrong direction.
Both vehicles were totaled in the collision. The other driver, a 54-year-old man from Milton, was injured and transported to the hospital.
The driver of the first vehicle Peasly hit, a 54-year-old Bonney Lake man, was injured but not transported to the hospital.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 10:34 AM.
