PORT ANGELES — An 8-year-old child who died of injuries sustained in a wreck on state Highway 112 has been identified by the State Patrol as Benjamin C. Freeman of Port Angeles.
No criminal charges are expected to be recommended against the driver who hit the car the boy was riding in, the State Patrol said Thursday.
The boy died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the State Patrol announced Wednesday, after the 3:36 p.m. Tuesday wreck near Elwha River Road west of Port Angeles.
The cause of the wreck was “driver inattention,” according to the State Patrol.
Chandra Erickson, 28, of Port Angeles was cited for failure to stop in connection with the wreck, said Trooper Russ Winger, spokesman for the State Patrol.
No criminal charges
There is no expectation that there will be criminal charges relating to the boy’s death, Winger said.
“She failed to recognize the car had stopped in front of her. It turned into a tragic fatality,” he said.
Trooper Rick Ward said Erickson had been distracted by another vehicle on the road, and there was no indication of cellphone use or other distractions inside her vehicle.
No drugs or alcohol were involved, according to the State Patrol report.
Troopers said Erickson was driving a 1996 Jeep Cherokee eastbound on Highway 112 and didn’t see that a 2007 Ford Taurus driven by Chelsea Palmer, 31, of Port Angeles had stopped at Elwha River Road to make a left turn.
Erickson’s vehicle collided with the rear of Palmer’s, sending it spinning counterclockwise. Palmer’s car came to rest in the westbound lane, while Erickson’s stopped in the eastbound lane.
Benjamin, who had been strapped into a child restraint seat in Palmer’s car, was taken by ambulance to William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles and then flown by helicopter to Harborview, said Fire Chief Sam Phillips of Clallam County Fire District No. 2.
Erickson, Palmer and a 6-year-old boy who was a passenger in the Cherokee were not injured.
The 6-year-old also was in a child safety seat, and both adults were wearing seat belts, the State Patrol said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
