Further investigation reveals Bellingham woman not at fault in fatal Skagit crash
Further investigation by the Washington State Patrol revealed that a Bellingham woman was not at fault in a Skagit County crash that resulted in her death earlier this month.
Sonja M. Bratz, 35, died when her 1997 Pontiac Sunfire collided with a 2014 Honda Accord at approximately 7:36 p.m. Dec. 18 on Highway 20 south of Anacortes.
Bratz was headed southbound toward Deception Pass when her Sunfire collided with the Accord, driven northbound by Hope D. Noyes, 45 of Anacortes. Bratz died at the scene and Noyes was taken to Island County Hospital before being airlifted to Harborview.
The initial investigation by the State Patrol found Bratz’s car had crossed the center line, but Trooper Heather Axtman told The Bellingham Herald on Thursday, Dec. 31, that further investigation showed it was actually Noyes’ car that had crossed the center line.
“That night during the original investigation, the deeper gouge marks (in the pavement) were found in the northbound lane,” Axtman said. “Those marks show were they maximum engagement occurred, or where the vehicles likely hit.
“Once the investigation was able to continue during daylight and after everything had been cleared, we went back and found even deeper gouges in the southbound lane, showing that’s likely where the maximum impact occurred. That showed us that Bratz was not the one to cross the center line.”
Axtman said she did not know if any charges would be filed in the fatal crash or if Noyes had been released from the hospital.
With only hours remaining in 2020, there were nine fatal collisions on Whatcom County roadways this year — down from 15 fatal collisions resulting in 16 deaths in 2019 and 13 fatal crashes in 2018. The State Patrol has reported an additional five Whatcom County residents have died in fatal crashes in Skagit County and one more in Snohomish County.
