Man wrecks car, then is struck, killed by ambulance while stepping onto roadway

SILVERDALE — A pedestrian who was struck and killed Monday afternoon after stepping in front of an ambulance driven by a Sequim man had just left his own vehicle after a wreck, the State Patrol said Tuesday.

James Colby Coan, 24, of Sierra Vista, Ariz., stepped into the roadway on state Highway 3 at about 3:15 p.m. and was struck by a 2002 Ford ambulance driven by James D. Toepfer, 74, of Sequim.

Coan was pronounced dead at the scene, which was about one mile north of Silverdale near the interchange with Trigger Avenue.

His body was removed by the Kitsap County coroner, the State Patrol said.

Coan had been driving a Ford Ranger pickup on Cyr Road, which runs above and parallel to state Highway 3, when he failed to stop at a stop sign, said Trooper Krista Hedstrom, State Patrol spokeswoman.

His car went through a guardrail and several trees before rolling down the hillside onto the slope that runs along state Highway 3, Hedstrom said.

“He got out and ran into the roadway, where he was struck,” she said.

There was no explanation for why the truck veered, and a State Patrol report said it was unknown whether drugs or alcohol was involved.

The privately owned ambulance driven by Toepfer struck the man in the southbound lane, the State Patrol reported.

Lanes of southbound Highway 3 were blocked for several hours as troopers investigated the scene.

The incident is under investigation, a State Patrol spokeswoman said.

Lanes of southbound Highway 3 were blocked for several hours as troopers investigated the scene.

Toepfer, who reportedly was uninjured, drove the ambulance from the scene.

No charges will be filed, Hedstrom said.

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