PORT ANGELES — A nurse was killed Sunday when her pickup truck was hit by another pickup driven by a woman suspected of being intoxicated.
The other driver, who had minor injuries, was jailed.
Ellen J. DeBondt, 44, of Port Angeles, a registered nurse for Olympic Medical Center’s home health agency, was pronounced dead at the scene on state Highway 112 near Joyce, west of Port Angeles.
State Patrol troopers said the driver of a 2005 Toyota pickup, Amber D. Steim, 24, of Port Angeles, crossed the center line near Oxenford Road, just east of Freshwater Bay Road, and collided with De Bondt’s blue 1994 Chevy S10 in the eastbound lane.
Steim was booked into Clallam County Jail for investigation of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Steim and her passenger, Nicole E. Boucher, 27, also of Port Angeles, were treated for minor injuries.
Steim was taken to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles by ambulance where she was treated before going to jail, the State Patrol said.
Boucher left the scene in a private vehicle, troopers said.
Sunday’s 7:54 a.m. accident blocked the eastbound lane of Highway 112 all morning.
The state Department of Transportation said alternating traffic was getting though in the westbound lane until the eastbound lane reopened at 1:40 p.m.
State Patrol Sgt. Gailin Hester told a Peninsula Daily News photographer that DeBondt drove along the shoulder to try to avoid Steim’s oncoming Toyota Tacoma.
Steim was not wearing a seat belt, according to the State Patrol report. DeBondt and Boucher were wearing their seat belts.
Both vehicles were destroyed.
Vehicular homicide is a Class A felony that carries a maximum punishment of life in prison and $50,000 fine.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
