A Pacific County woman is dead, her children recovering after Hwy 101 crash

PACIFIC COUNTY, Wash. — A Pacific County woman is dead, her two children are recovering after a single car crash along Highway 101. Now the family is turning all of its attention to the surviving children.

This fatal crash happened last week on Highway 101 near Butte Creek Road in Pacific County. A 38-year-old woman was killed and her kids are still in the hospital.

But it took hours for Washington State Troopers to find the wreckage.

There is some good news on this Easter Sunday. The woman’s 9-year-old son has been discharged from Harborview. Her 12-year-old daughter’s condition has been upgraded and she is no longer in the ICU.

Still, they face a long road to recovery.

The picture of this young family was shattered, in an instant.

Thirty-eight-year-old Tracey Koonrad and her children were headed to her Pacific County home in South Bend on March 23rd when their lives took a tragic turn.

“We got a phone call that Tracey had picked up the kids from their grandpa’s after school,” said Jacinda Brewer. “And they had not returned home.”

A family spokeswoman says that was at about 11 o’clock at night.  An hour later, troopers discovered the wreckage on Highway 101 near milepost 60.

Investigators say Koonrad was traveling southbound, driving too fast for conditions, when she lost control and crossed the northbound lanes. Her vehicle went into a ditch and struck a tree, where it came to rest.

“So, our next phone call at home was ‘There was an accident; Tracey didn’t make it,’” Brewer said. “‘And the kiddos are going to Grays Harbor Hospital.  But they’re likely going to be airlifted to Harborview.’”

Just four days earlier, some 140 miles away, another 38-year-old mother was killed, along with three other children after a speeding driver slammed into them in Renton.  Her own children are still recovering at Harborview, too.

Koonrad’s son, 9-year-old James, was released and is back home.  His 12-year-old sister, Toni, remains at Harborview but was moved out of the ICU.

“She has a traumatic brain injury,” said Brewer. “So, her road will be long. But she has shown us that she has some resiliency. And these really are two of the strongest and most resilient kids I have ever met, yeah.”

Toni is now in satisfactory condition here. But she is to be moved to Seattle Children’s Hospital for more extensive care.

The family has created a GoFundMe account to help pay for their mother’s services and to help with the children’s financial needs.

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