AGNEW — An 86-year-old woman was killed Thursday afternoon when the car she was driving crossed the centerline of U.S. Highway 101 and collided with a sport-utility vehicle.
Kathryn G. Spencer of Port Angeles was dead at the scene of the crash that occurred about 4:20 p.m. on Highway 101 between Shore Road and North Barr Road, the Washington State Patrol reported.
Spencer was not wearing a seat belt, troopers said.
She became the sixth person to die on Clallam County’s stretch of Highway 101 this year.
The site is about midway along a 35-mile highway safety corridor project established by the state Traffic Safety Commission between the eastern Clallam-Jefferson county line and state Highway 112 west of Port Angeles.
Ironically, Thursday’s fatal crash occurred on the first anniversary of establishing the “Driving 101 — It’s Basic Safety” corridor project.
Car swerves, overcorrected
Spencer was driving westbound in a 1999 Mercury Sable when the car swerved to the right, was overcorrected and crossed the centerline at a left angle, said Trooper Brian George, a State Patrol spokesman.
“Almost like you make a 90 degree turn to the left,” George said.
As Spencer’s car crossed into oncoming traffic, it was struck on the side by a 1998 Dodge Durango driven by Susan K. Hurlbut, 50, of Sequim, the State Patrol said.
Hurlbut, who was wearing a seat belt, was uninjured, according to a trooper’s report.