Suspected drunken driver in a 3-car Sumner crash that killed woman has been charged
A suspected drunken driver who caused a three-car crash in Sumner that killed a 65-year-old woman has been charged with vehicular manslaughter.
Michael Ray Munson, 61, is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 8.
Toxicology tests taken after the Jan. 29 collision show Munson was under the influence.
Charging papers give this account:
Margo Sabater was a passenger in a Geo Metro stopped on Sumner Tapps Highway East to make a left turn onto 162nd Avenue East.
Just before 6 p.m., Munson’s pickup truck slammed into the back of the Geo at 45 mph and pushed the car into oncoming traffic.
The Geo was struck by a Toyota Celica before careening into a ditch.
Sabater was thrown from the car and pronounced dead at the scene.
Three others, including Sabater’s husband, were injured in the collision.
Munson complained of chest pains and was taken to an area hospital.
Pierce County sheriff’s deputies said the impact broke the axle on his pickup truck. They also allegedly found a half-empty bottle of whiskey on the floorboard of his truck.
Munson told deputies he’d had a few beers at a Sumner tavern before getting behind the wheel but that the bottle of liquor was taken from a co-worker caught drinking on the job.
This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 8:35 AM.
