Woman killed after driving off road and crashing down embankment near DuPont
A 21-year-old woman was killed Monday afternoon when her vehicle went off a road near DuPont and crashed down an embankment, Pierce County deputies said.
Deputies from Pierce County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched about 3:01 p.m. to the 20400 block of Nisqually Road Southwest after 911 callers reported a vehicle had gone off the road.
Deputies found a small SUV resting against a tree down a steep embankment, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. The woman was dead inside the vehicle.
The collision occurred where the road narrows from two lanes down to one, and a truck towing a trailer merged in front of the woman’s SUV, sheriff’s department spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss said. The woman was forced to the shoulder. Then, she sped up to try to pass the truck, lost control and went off the road.
Moss said excessive speed was a major factor in the crash. The truck driver ahead of the woman didn’t stop, but Moss said deputies aren’t looking to talk to that driver because there was no collision between the two vehicles.
“She could have stopped, but she tried to drive faster to pass the truck, lost control and went off the road,” Moss said.
Search-and-rescue crews used a rope system to get themselves down to the crashed vehicle to stabilize it. Then a tow truck pulled the vehicle back onto the road.
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 11:55 AM.
