Two men die in Peninsula bike, motorcycle accidents at almost the same time
Two people — a cyclist and a motorcyclist — were killed in almost simultaneous traffic accidents on the Peninsula last weekend.
A Lakewood man died following a motorcycle crash on SR-16 in Gig Harbor about 3 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The same hour, a Tacoma bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run collision near Port Orchard, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. The driver of the running vehicle was arrested.
The motorcyclist was identified as Eric A. Griswold, 55, of Lakewood.
Griswold, along with his 45-year-old female passenger, were headed east on state Route 16 just before 3 p.m. May 9. Troopers say he lost control of the motorcycle in the area of Burnham Drive in Gig Harbor, and both he and his passenger were ejected as a result.
Griswold was taken to an area hospital where he later died. The woman was taken to Tacoma General Hospital
The second fatality occurred at almost the same time on Bethel-Burley Road SE in Kitsap County.
Thomas Frederick Johnson, 56, was bicycling southbound on the shoulder of the road just before 3 p.m. when he was struck from behind by a car traveling in the same direction, Kitsap deputies said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
The collision was in the 8800 block of Bethel-Burley Road, near the intersection of SE Mullenix Road. The location is between Port Orchard and Burley, just west of State Route 16.
Witnesses told deputies the vehicle that struck Johnson did not stop, but continued for about a mile until pulled over by a deputy. Witnesses said they saw the driver trying to remove the smashed bike from the front end of his 2003 Oldsmobile Aero.
The driver, a 40-year-old Port Orchard man, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs. A warrant was obtained and a sample of blood taken, sheriff’s deputies said. The driver said he thought he had struck a mailbox.
The driver was booked into Kitsap County Jail on charges of vehicular homicide, driving while under the influence of a narcotic, hit-and-run causing death to another, and driving with a suspended license.
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office is seeking other witnesses to the collision. Persons with information may contact Deputy Rob Corn at 360-337-4634, or email rcorn@co.kitsap.wa.us
The deaths were the second and third highway fatalities in the Peninsula area in a week.
Jesse Kupietz, 39, of Gig Harbor, was killed on May 2 when he lost control of his pickup truck on State Route 302 west of Purdy.