MONROE — A Gold Bar woman and an Everett man were the victims of a fiery head-on crash with a dump truck on U.S. 2 last week, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Tuesday.
Haley Terry, 23, had been driving a Mercedes-Benz ML350 SUV westbound on U.S. 2 when she went off the road to the right around 12:50 p.m. Thursday, according to the Washington State Patrol. She reportedly overcorrected to the left, crossed the center line near Sofie Road and crashed head-on into a dump truck going east.
The SUV caught fire. Haley Terry and her husband Xhavier Terry, 28, who was a passenger, died at the scene from blunt force injuries, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Flames left no evidence untouched in the Mercedes.
The dump truck driver, 58, of Lake Stevens, was transported to EvergreenHealth Monroe with minor injuries. He was released shortly afterward.
No charges were expected, state trooper Rocky Oliphant said. The truck driver has cooperated throughout the investigation.
Witnesses reported the Mercedes-Benz moving erratically shortly before the crash, Oliphant said.
The speed limit is 55 mph on the section of U.S. 2 near Sofie. Based on skid marks, troopers believe the dump truck driver hit the brakes and swerved to the right.
At this point, investigators believe the SUV driver was at fault for the collision, Oliphant said.
Troopers believe the husband and wife were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
Authorities were still waiting for toxicology results to determine if drugs or alcohol were factors. That could take months, Oliphant said.
Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.
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