Driver accused of killing Pierce County couple dies, ending criminal case
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- King County dismissed vehicular homicide case after driver Michelle Oster died.
- Oct 13, 2024 crash on SR 410 killed Dr. Kim and Bette Nordberg, both Puyallup residents.
- Prosecutors cited reckless driving and court records described substance use history.
The driver accused of causing a three-vehicle wreck on a highway east of Enumclaw that killed two Pierce County residents and seriously injured two other people died last month, prompting the court to dismiss her criminal case.
King County prosecutors had alleged that Michelle Renee Oster, who also used the last names Thomas and Walton-Thomas, drove recklessly and disregarded the safety of others on Oct. 13, 2024, when she crashed her Honda Accord on state Route 410. Oster was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault.
Oster, 64, pleaded not guilty to those charges in December 2024 following a mental competency evaluation. A forensic psychologist diagnosed her with unspecified depressive disorder but determined she possessed the capacity to understand the nature of the court proceedings and could assist in her defense.
She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2025 while on electronic home monitoring, according to court documents filed by her defense attorney. The court released her from home monitoring Dec. 4, and she died the next morning at St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood.
King County Superior Court Judge David Keenan ordered Oster’s case dismissed Dec. 17.
The two people killed in the wreck were Dr. Kim Nordberg, 72, and his wife, Bette Nordberg, 69. The couple lived in Puyallup. Dr. Nordberg was a dentist who was honored by the Washington State Dental Association as its 2025 Citizen of the Year, recognizing him in part for his annual mission trips to Guatemala where he treated people without access to dental care and mentored dental students.
An obituary said Bette Nordberg was a physical therapist who left the profession in 1987 to raise her four children. She was also active in her church community, was a skilled fiber artist and wrote and published multiple books.
Defendant was ‘in a hurry’
Oster resided in Enumclaw and was traveling west on the two-lane highway. According to charging documents, she later told investigators she was “in a hurry” to get home. A witness reported seeing Oster drive into oncoming traffic lanes to pass other motorists. When an oncoming vehicle approached, the witness said Oster pulled back into the westbound lanes and collided with a Subaru.
Prosecutors said Oster struck the rear corner of the Subaru, causing it to spin into the oncoming lane, where it was hit by a Honda Fit. Oster’s vehicle ended up off the road in some bushes. She was uninjured.
The two people in the Subaru, Dr. Kim Nordberg and Bette Nordberg, suffered “catastrophic injuries,” according to court documents, and they were pronounced dead at the scene.
The 32-year-old woman driving the Honda Fit and the 38-year-old woman in the passenger seat both suffered serious internal injuries and fractured bones. They were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center.
Two dogs in the Nordbergs’ vehicle were taken to a veterinarian to be evaluated for injuries along with a dog that was in the Honda Fit.
Washington State Patrol troopers wrote in a report that when Oster first drove into the eastbound lanes, it was a legal passing zone, but it quickly became a no-passing zone for westbound traffic due to the curve in the roadway. Troopers said Oster continued in the no-passing zone for two-tenths of a mile before she swerved back into westbound lanes.
Troopers arrested Oster and placed her in a patrol vehicle at the scene. Unprompted, she allegedly said she had been passing two or three cars at a time and signaling to move back into the westbound lanes before passing more cars when traffic cleared up. She allegedly said the person in front of her “stepped on the brakes” when there was an oncoming car, so she went into the bushes to avoid an accident, and her front bumper hit his back bumper.
Oster allegedly stated she was going maybe “a little tiny bit” over the speed limit and that others were driving 40-45 mph, and that they should have pulled over if they wanted to look at trees. Prosecutors wrote in charging papers that Oster seemed more concerned about getting her vape pen from her vehicle than the state of the victims.
“[Oster] also stated that the guy in front of her had a medical emergency and that’s why they died, because he had slowed down after she had pulled into the space behind him,” the probable cause document states. “[Oster] stated the other car started it, and that other people told her she was ‘being safe.’”
Driver had complicated health, medication, substance use history
There was no evidence that Oster was driving impaired, according to charging documents. However, prosecutors were concerned that Oster told troopers she was trying to get off Dilaudid, an opioid pain medication.
According to her competency evaluation, Oster later indicated she was prescribed Dilaudid but also admitted to illicit substance use. A urine screening done at Harborview Medical Center prior to her booking was positive for opiates and methamphetamine/amphetamine.
The forensic psychologist who evaluated Oster wrote that she had a complicated health, medication and substance use history. The evaluation said further assessment was needed to determine if she had a substance-use disorder or a history of substance/medication induced psychotic/depressive disorder versus psychotic disorder due to another medical condition.
At booking, Oster reported a history of Type 2 diabetes and a prescription for metformin, which is used to treat high blood sugar. She said she had been taking Dilaudid for more than a decade, took oxycodone for pain relief, took trazodone for insomnia, used an inhaler, a bronchodilator and prednisone for asthma and took Tylenol and the nerve-pain medication Lyrica.
Oster had a history of driving offenses, including reckless driving in 2009. Her most recent citation was for speeding 17 mph over the limit in 2018.
