POULSBO, Wash. — KIRO 7 was there as detectives from the Washington State patrol surveyed the crash scene early Thursday afternoon.
Troopers say at about 7:20 Wednesday night, they began getting reports that someone had been struck. But Highway 305 is so busy that time of night, so dark, that it took 25 long minutes to find the victim. By then, she had crawled out of harm's way.
"We believe that she was walking along that shoulder over there," said Trooper Russ Winger, as he pointed to the area near 17000 Highway 305. "And after impact, after she was struck, that she had made her way down and climbed over the guard rail."
Investigators identified the victim as 33-year-old Sarah Dean. Dean told them she was walking southbound in the shoulder, facing the northbound traffic, as the law requires. She was headed home to the Eagle Tree RV park where she lives, about a half mile away. But she never made it.
Troopers believe the vehicle that struck her was likely a 1998 to 2003 Dodge Dakota truck. They don't know the color but they believe they recovered the vehicle's side passenger mirror. They think the vehicle's front passenger side is damaged, too.
No one actually witnessed the accident. But the impact was so great, the driver almost certainly knows that he or she hit something or someone.
"It was severe enough that where you're not going to not know you hit someone," said Trooper Winger. "And hopefully do the right thing and come forward with the information."
Troopers believe Dean was herself impaired by alcohol. But they say there is no evidence that contributed to the accident.
The driver who left the scene is facing a felony hit-and-run.
Cox Media Group
