BRINNON — A motorcyclist died, and a Port Angeles woman known for her memorial efforts on behalf of her late son was injured in a collision north of Brinnon on Saturday.
Rickie A.F. Zehner, 53, of Shelton died of injuries he received when he swerved his 2003 blue Harley-Davidson motorcycle into the oncoming lane on U.S. Highway 101 and collided with a 2007 Nissan Armada SUV driven by Tami Ziegler, 43, of Port Angeles, the State Patrol reported Saturday night.
Ziegler, who was taken to Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend, had organized a scholarship benefit earlier this summer in memory of her honor-student son, Mason, who was killed in a motocross motorcycle accident in Oregon last year.
She was treated and released on Saturday, a Jefferson Healthcare representative said Sunday.
According to the State Patrol, Zehner was riding northbound when he approached a vehicle turning across the two-lane highway about 3 miles north of Brinnon at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Zehner took “evasive action” and swerved the Harley into the southbound lane to avoid the car.
He collided with the side of a 20-foot Tailgater camping trailer that was being pulled by Ziegler’s SUV, according to the accident report submitted by Trooper James Decker.
Ziegler lost control of the SUV, which swerved into a ditch and then back into the southbound lane, Decker said.
Zehner, who was wearing a helmet, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was pronounced dead.
The passengers in the Ziegler SUV — Ziegler’s son, Daelan Ziegler, 14, and Austin Rush, 17, of Port Angeles, both off-road enthusiasts with the Olympic Peninsula Motorcycle Club — were not injured, the State Patrol reported.
Earlier this year, Tami Ziegler and Mason’s father, Kelly Ziegler, organized a scholarship benefit in son Mason’s name, raising $20,000 to be awarded to members of Port Angeles High School Class of 2014.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
