CHIMACUM — The driver who died along with his nephew in a single-vehicle crash that authorities say involved alcohol was a clergyman who had relapsed after years of sobriety and of helping others stay clean and sober, his wife said.
Wayne Dennis Stewart, 41, and his passenger, Conan Peneaux, 24, died of their injuries after the 2003 Ford Windstar that Stewart was driving southbound on Columbia Street N.E. in Kitsap County left the road and hit a tree at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“Excessive vehicle speed and the consumption of alcohol by the driver of the vehicle appear to have been contributing factors in this crash,” said the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office in a statement.
Stewart, a Lakota from South Dakota, headed a chapter of the Native American Church Baptism in Christ, which has been in Chimacum for about four years, said Christina Stewart, his wife and church partner.
“Wayne had been clean and sober for some time,” she said Friday.
“I had left town and he relapsed, and started drinking.”
She had traveled to eastern Washington to minister to a couple the Stewarts had married.
“We did a lot of work with families in South Dakota helping them to stay clean and sober,” she said.
“He was an amazing man and had an amazing mind.”
Peneaux, also a Lakota from South Dakota, was staying with his uncle, she said.
When the van crashed through a fence and hit a large tree, the impact sheared off the left front end of the van, partially ejected Stewart and completely ejected Peneaux, neither of whom were wearing a seat belt, said the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
Both men were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the sheriff’s office said.
Stewart died Wednesday night, the sheriff’s office said, while Peneaux died Thursday, Christina Stewart said.
Aside from his wife, Stewart is survived by six children and four grandchildren.
The family is participating in a sweat lodge for Stewart and is preparing to ship his remains to South Dakota for burial.
Christina Stewart said the Lakota tribe is subsidizing the burial and some of the transportation costs but she is collecting funds so more family members can attend the service.
Those wishing to contribute can email cristee2004@yahoo.com.
An autopsy on Stewart will be conducted by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, the sheirff’s office said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
