Gig Harbor man charged in deadly wrong-way crash in Tacoma that killed two
A man has been charged in a deadly wrong-way collision on an interstate interchange in Tacoma that killed two people, including a 17-year-old boy. Two others were hurt.
Gregory R. Steele was charged Monday in Pierce County Superior Court with DUI vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault. The wreck occurred after midnight Sunday on a northbound ramp from Interstate 5 to Interstate 705 near downtown.
Steele pleaded not guilty at arraignment Monday afternoon. Commissioner Craig Adams set bail at $1 million. As of Wednesday morning, he remained in custody at Pierce County Jail.
According to charging documents, Steele, 37, was driving south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 705 in a Ford F-150 with a woman in his passenger seat when he crashed head-on into a Honda Accord occupied by three people. The two front-seat passengers, Levi Moser, 20, and a 17-year-old who has not been publicly identified, died in the wreck.
The backseat passenger of the victim vehicle was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries. Washington State Patrol troopers reported she was the only person in the Honda who was wearing a seatbelt.
Prosecutors wrote in the charging papers that the crash also injured Steele and the woman in his car, a 27-year-old from Port Orchard. Records state she suffered a broken arm and a fractured hand.
Steele has at least one prior felony conviction, and he had an active warrant from Kitsap County Superior Court when he was arrested, according to court records. The defendant reportedly lives at an address near Gig Harbor, and records state he owns a computer repair shop in Port Orchard.
It’s unclear what the defendant’s blood alcohol content was at the time of the crash. Court documents don’t mention any portable breath test being administered at the scene, but Steele’s blood was later drawn for toxicology testing.
The Washington State Patrol was dispatched to the wreck at about 12:44 a.m., troopers said in a news release. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, the first to arrive saw two people standing on the left shoulder and another screaming and walking in traffic lanes. She had glass on her with small cuts to her head and face, and troopers escorted her out of the road.
In the victims’ Honda, both front seat passengers were found unresponsive, records state. The car was facing north with significant damage to its front end. The pickup that struck it was facing the opposite direction in the same lane. Steele was conscious in the driver’s seat, and his airbag had deployed.
“The male driver, later identified as defendant Gregory Steele, said he was okay and ‘I think I may have hurt somebody. I am so sorry,’” prosecutors wrote in court documents. “Trooper Knox detected the obvious odor of intoxicants coming from the vehicle.”
This story was originally published April 5, 2023 at 12:32 PM.
