17-year-old killed in head-on collision involving transit bus in Jefferson County

A fatal multi-vehicle collision involving a Jefferson Transit bus killed a 17-year-old girl and injured three others on Tuesday evening in Jefferson County.

At approximately 7 p.m., the crash was reported on Beaver Valley Road at Highway 104 near Port Ludlow, Washington State Patrol (WSP) Trooper Katherine Weatherwax announced.

WSP initially reported that it was a head-on collision, and the bus was not at fault, though the cause of the collision remained under investigation.

Hours later, WSP released a report that identified the parties involved and detailed the events leading up to the collision.

Head-on collision triggered chain-reaction crash with third vehicle

A 17-year-old girl from Poulsbo was driving west along SR 104 in a Honda CRV, with a man and a woman from Sequim following directly behind her in a Toyota Tacoma, according to the report obtained by KIRO 7.

Traveling eastbound was a 62-year-old man from Port Townsend driving a bus along SR 104, with a 29-year-old man from Marysville in one of the passenger seats.

The Honda CRV crossed the center line and struck the bus head-on, according to the report. The transit bus then crossed the center line and collided with the Toyota Tacoma.

The 17-year-old girl was reported dead at the scene. Both occupants of the Toyota Tacoma were injured and transported to Jefferson General Hospital.

WSP noted that the bus driver was the first to call 911 and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. The bus passenger was not injured.

The portion of SR 104 where the crash occurred had been closed in both directions for several hours as WSP investigated. The roadway was reopened at approximately 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

WSP confirmed that the cause of the crash remains under investigation, and it is currently unknown whether drugs or alcohol were involved.

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