SEQUIM — A fatal car collision near the Dungeness Valley Wildlife Refuge left a Sequim man dead and a Joyce man arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide.
Andrew Courney, 61, died at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles after he was hurt in the wreck shortly before 3:48 p.m. Wednesday, said Detective Josh Ley with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
A Ford F-350 service truck traveling northbound on Kitchen-Dick Road struck a van going west on Lotzgesell Road, Ley said.
Ley said the truck driver, Vance M. Mattix, 50, of Joyce, did not negotiate the curve, crossed into the other lane and struck the van.
Mattix was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will consider filing formal charges at 1 p.m. Monday.
In a Thursday court hearing in Clallam County Superior Court, Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney April King requested a $500,000 bail for Mattix based on a “danger to public safety and self.”
Defense attorney Lane Wolfley asked for no bail to be imposed on Mattix, citing his client’s “exemplary life,” his longstanding ties to the community and a strong support network that included more than a dozen friends and family members who appeared at the hearing.
Superior Court Judge Brian Coughenour set Mattix’s bail at $50,000, saying that amount was “reasonable.”
Should he post bail, Mattix would be required to abstain from drugs or alcohol. He would be prohibited from driving and would be required to enroll in an alcohol monitoring program.
Two drivers reported Mattix for erratic driving on U.S. Highway 101 east of Sequim about 15 to 20 minutes before the collision, Ley said.
The crash remains under investigation by Clallam County sheriff’s detectives.
