SR 167 death highlights dangerous trend along Puyallup River

A man is dead after being hit by two trucks Wednesday morning in Pierce County. Authorities believe the incident was part of a dangerous trend along the Puyallup River.

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) said a 35-year-old man was attempting to cross State Route 167 (SR 167) when he was first hit by a pickup truck and then a garbage truck.

Fishermen tend to cross SR 167 to get to Puyallup River

Investigators believe the man was attempting to go fishing at the Puyallup River, which runs along SR 167. 

“We’ve already had problems on scene of fishermen attempting to cross through this closed portion of the roadway, where we are investigating,” WSP Trooper John Datillo told KIRO Newsradio. “Every single year, it seems like we tend to have either close calls or actual pedestrian collisions, and this unfortunately happened on the first day of fishing season.

He explained the area has limited parking, so fishermen notoriously race across several lanes of traffic to get from their cars to the river. 

“The speed limit here is between 50 and 55 miles an hour. This is just an unsafe place to cross. There’s no crosswalk. Especially in the morning, it’s poorly lit, there’s no streetlights in the area,” he said.

Datillo said even during Wednesday’s investigation, more fishermen attempted to cross SR 167 on foot. He’s urged people to use caution.

One of the drivers is reportedly cooperating with investigators. The road was closed while authorities investigated, but is now back open.

Update: the road is opening now. Thank you for your patience.

— Trooper John Dattilo (@wspd1pio) August 20, 2025

Contributing: Gwen Baumgardner, KIRO Newsradio; Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest