DUNGENESS — A Dungeness-area woman was ill and despondent when she drove off a 30-foot bluff at 90 mph and plunged about 100 yards into Dungeness Bay on Thursday, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office investigators said Tuesday as they concluded their investigation into Barbara Neil’s death.
Neil, 66, who lived on West Anderson Road about two miles from where she drove off the bluff at Cays Road and Marine Drive, was pronounced dead from serious head injuries at Olympic Medical Center.
Investigators said there was nothing wrong with her 1993 Chevrolet van, which plunged through a bramble of wild roses and shot more than 300 feet over the bluff to crash in about 3 feet of water at about 9:20 a.m.
“Deputies did learn from family members that Mrs. Neal was very ill at the time of the incident and was somewhat depressed about her condition,” Sheriff’s Department Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said Tuesday.
“Whether that played a part in what occurred may never be known for sure.
“Whether she did it intentionally or not, we’ll probably never know.”
Sheriff and State Patrol investigators found no skid marks to indicate that Neil applied her brakes at the Cays Road-Marine Drive turn where Neil’s van left the road.
Marine Drive has no railing in that area.
There were no apparent signs of mechanical problems in the van that investigators could find that could contribute to speed, braking or turning, Cameron said.
“There was nothing wrong with her vehicle,” he said.
“She was pretty sick and pretty despondent,” he added, saying he would not release the type of illness Neil suffered.
“She left that road at about 90 [miles per hour],” Cameron said.
Neil was not wearing a seat belt.
Clallam County Fire District 3 personnel rescued Neil, who was unresponsive but alive, on Thursday morning, using a small boat to move her to shore, then carrying her up a flight of beach stairs near the crash scene.
An unidentified Border Patrol agent who was patrolling near Cline Spit at about 9:30 a.m. rushed into the water to help her and supported her head above the water until rescuers could reach her.
A Coast Guard helicopter rescue crew from Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles airlifted Neil to OMC in Port Angeles.
Neil’s personal doctor signed the death certificate, concluding that the crash injuries caused her death, Cameron said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
