PORT ANGELES — An elderly Port Angeles man died Wednesday afternoon after rear-ending a chip truck on U.S. Highway 101 at the Carlsborg Road intersection.
Robert E. Nekuda, 91, died after he was taken to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, according to a hospital spokesperson.
He was hurt, with his injuries described as serious by the State Patrol, in a collision at about 5 a.m. Wednesday on eastbound U.S. Highway 101.
Nekuda, driving a 2002 Buick Rendezvous, was behind a truck driven by Michael D. Owens, 76, of Sequim, the State Patrol said.
As the truck slowed at the Carlsborg Road intersection, Nekuda was unable to stop and ran into the back of Owens’ chip truck, troopers said.
The collision’s cause remains under investigation, according to Trooper Katherine Weatherwax, State Patrol spokesperson.
“Aid believes it was a medical emergency, possibly a stroke. He also was complaining of knee pain. We do not think drugs or alcohol are involved. (Nekuda) also had a pacemaker,” Weatherwax wrote in an email.
Owens was not injured.
Both drivers wear wearing seatbelts.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at brian.gawley@soundpublishing.com.
