SEQUIM — The cause of a crash that claimed the life of a Sequim woman when the van she was driving Thursday plunged into Dungeness Bay remained under investigation this weekend, a Clallam County sheriff’s deputy said.
“The case is still open” in connection with the driving-related death of Barbara Neil, said Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron.
A report was expected to be released sometime this week.
Cameron said an autopsy would be performed as part of the investigation into the cause of the crash.
Neil, 66, was driving a 1993 Chevrolet van northbound on Cays Road at a high rate of speed, witnesses said, when it plunged off a 30-foot cliff at Marine Drive.
Investigators said there were no skid marks, evidence indicating that she did not try to apply the brakes to stop the vehicle.
The van plunged about 100 yards out into the bay, coming to rest in about 3 feet of water in a rising tide.
An unidentified Border Patrol agent patroling near Cline Spit at about 9:30 a.m. rushed into the bay’s chilly waters after being alerted to the 9:20 a.m. crash.
While standing in waist-deep water, the agent and two unidentified residents attempted to extricate Neil, who was trapped inside the vehicle.
After many failed attempts to open the doors of the vehicle, the agent remained with Neil, who was unresponsive but alive, to support her head above water and coordinate emergency medical units as they arrived, the Border Patrol said.
State Patrol was called in to assist the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office in the technical aspects of the investigation.
Witnesses said they heard the vehicle race down Cays Road before it shot off the cliff into the bay.
Neil was pronounced dead at Olympic Medical Center, after a Coast Guard rescue helicopter from Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles transported her to the hospital.
Neil sustained serious head and other injuries in the crash and was not wearing a seat belt, investigators said.
Sequim Valley Chapel is handling funeral arrangements. No information was released Friday or Saturday.
