Man killed in Gig Harbor crash after driver fell asleep at the wheel

A 34-year-old Port Orchard man died in Gig Harbor after the driver of the SUV he was riding in fell asleep and crashed into a ditch.

Washington State Patrol trooper Robert Reyer told The News Tribune that early Wednesday morning, a woman drove her partner (Reyer did not know their marriage status) and their two children northwest on Purdy Drive. Just after 5 a.m., the woman fell asleep near the road’s 12900 block, and the SUV drifted across the oncoming traffic lane. It left the road and landed in a ditch, injuring everyone in the vehicle.

The driver’s partner died at the scene, according to a WSP press release. The other three people were transported to nearby hospitals. Reyer said the woman sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries, and both children were in stable condition after being treated for minor trauma.

The press release lists only the driver as having worn her seatbelt. She received three traffic infractions from the incident: two fines for neither child wearing a seat-belt, and one fine for negligent driving in the second degree. State law lists one of the second degree negligent driving offenses as “the doing of some act that a reasonably careful person would not do under the same or similar circumstances.”

Purdy Drive was blocked by troopers for just over 3 hours, according to the press release.

This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 3:03 PM.