1 dead in head-on crash in Kitsap County

KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. — A man died after crashing head-on into a Puget Sound Energy utility truck Saturday in unincorporated north Kitsap County.

The crash happened about 4:43 p.m. in the 21600 block of Miller Bay Road Northeast between Suquamish Way Northeast and Northeast Gunderson Road.

Deputies said a 55-year-old man in an SUV going southbound on the road crossed the center line and struck the PSE truck. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Kitsap County Coroner's Office identified the man as Kevin Chandler, of Seattle.

Investigators said based on evidence from the scene and statements from witnesses, Chandler went into the path of the utility truck. The PSE driver attempted to evade the SUV by braking and swerving, but the two vehicles collided in the northbound lane.

Chandler may have suffered a medical event just before the crash but that information must be confirmed by the county's forensic pathologist, investigators said. It was also determined he was not wearing a seat belt.

The driver of the PSE truck, identified as a 60-year-old Port Townsend man, sustained minor injuries and was taken to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, deputies said.

Investigators determined there was no evidence that the PSE driver was speeding or driving impaired.
Miller Bay Road was closed for more than five hours for the investigation.

The coroner's office will determine the SUV driver's cause and manner of death.

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