A woman was killed in a motor vehicle crash near Copalis Crossing on Sunday, becoming the fifth death to occur on the roads of Grays Harbor County since last Sunday.
Donna Rose Comenout, 31, of Taholah, was pronounced dead at the scene of a motor vehicle crash on Ocean Beach Road, said Coroner George Kelley in a news release; Comenout’s autopsy is scheduled, and her next of kin have been notified.
“That call came in at 12:25 p.m.,” said Undersheriff Kevin Schrader of the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office. “A passerby was traveling behind the passenger car and saw it go off the roadway and roll multiple times. There were two adults and two children in the car.”
Comenout, who was a passenger and not seatbelted, was ejected from the vehicle, where she was found dead.
“Both of the children were lifeflighted to (Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital),” Schrader said. “No life threatening injuries.”
The man driving the vehicle was evaluated at the scene but not transported, Schrader said. A Quinault Tribal Police officer and the Hoquiam Police Department responded to the crash, Schrader said.
“Speed was possibly a factor. No signs of impairment at this point,” Schrader said. “We’re continuing to gather witness statements and investigate.”
Comenout’s death comes amid a string of high-profile crashes leaving a number of residents dead, The Daily World previously reported, from a man found dead in a single vehicle crash on Friday, to a crash resulting from a failure to pass safely on state Route 109 on Thursday, to a single-vehicle crash being investigated as a possible driving under the influence crash last Sunday near Porter that killed two men in the vehicle and injured a third, who was later arrested for charges of vehicular manslaughter.
There have also been a number of serious crashes requiring medevacs, such as when a motorcyclist hit a deer while riding on North River Road last week and the children with the most recent rollover crash.
It’s unclear if there are any common factors in the fatal crashes; none of the the three the sheriff’s office responded to — the two in Porter last Sunday and the rollover this Sunday — were wearing seatbelts, Schrader said.
“Buckle up and slow down,” Schrader said.