SEQUIM — Family and friends are mourning the loss of two Port Angeles natives and praying for smooth recoveries for an injured Sequim couple after a traffic collision 25 miles west of Longview.
William Neudorfer, 58, and Patricia Neudorfer, 54, of Vancouver, Wash., were killed Saturday when a pickup truck struck their 2016 Harley Davidson motorcycle.
The Neudorfers, formerly of Port Angeles, and Wayne Priest, 56, and Brenda Priest, 56, of Sequim were traveling east on their 2015 Harley Davidson motorcycles along state Highway 4 through Cathlamet at about 1 p.m. when Branson Myers, 22, of Longview crossed the center line in his 2014 Dodge Ram while driving west and struck the two motorcycles, the State Patrol said.
The Neudorfers’ motorcycle came to rest in the eastbound guardrail and the Priests’ motorcycle on the westbound shoulder, State Patrol said.
The Neudorfers died in the collision and the Priests were airlifted to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, troopers said.
Medical staff report Wayne is in “satisfactory” condition and that Brenda was treated and discharged from Longview’s PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center.
Jenn Priest, daughter-in-law of Wayne and Brenda, established a gofundme account to help them with medical expenses at www.gofundme.com/pd3usf-help-for-our-family. As of mid-day Thursday, the site had raised $14,510 of a $30,000 goal.
Justin and Amber Priest, the Priests’ son and daughter-in-law, said Wayne requires multiple surgeries on his leg and he might not be able to walk for three to six months. He also has some broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung and some fractured vertebrae.
They also said Brenda will have surgery to fix a fractured tibia resulting in her being unable to walk for about three months.
Family and friends
William “Bill” Neudorfer and Brenda Priest are siblings and the two couples were best friends, said Justin and Amber Priest.
“Every big vacation they went on together, like Hawaii,” Justin said.
For their recent trip, Justin and Amber said the foursome was planning a long ride on their motorcycles but heavy smoke from forest fires led them to travel mostly along the Oregon coast. They said the couples were planning to fuel up, and say their goodbyes in Longview.
William worked at Ferguson Enterprises and Patricia “Patti” worked in administration at PeaceHealth in Vancouver. The Neudorfers leave behind two daughters and their husbands and three grandchildren.
They had lived in Vancouver for at least 30 years, Justin and Amber said, and they were raised in Port Angeles.
Funeral arrangements have not been finalized, Justin and Amber said.
Wayne Priest works at the Port Townsend Paper Corp. and Brenda is a stay-at-home mom, wife and grandma.
Both couples began riding road motorcycles in recent years. They have experience on dirt bikes, Justin and Amber said.
Charges of negligent driving
The Chinook Reporter reported State Patrol Trooper Edward Quintero said that an investigation is ongoing. He said that Myers, who was not injured in the wreck, was cited for second-degree negligent driving.
Quintero said Myers seemed fatigued with a few hours of sleep after a graveyard shift and traveling to the Wahkiakum County Fair at the time of the wreck.
State Patrol reported all motorcyclists wore road-approved helmets and Myers was wearing a seat belt. Drugs or alcohol were not involved.
Read more about the Priests and Neudorfers at the gofundme site: www.gofundme.com/pd3usf-help-for-our-family.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
