Two people died of injuries sustained when a car crashed into a portable toilet during a Sports Car Club of America event in Packwood on Sunday, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Tuesday.
Deputies and Washington State Patrol troopers were dispatched to the ProSolo event at the former Hampton Mill in the 12800 block of U.S. Highway 12 at approximately 9:01 a.m. on July 16, according to the sheriff’s office.
A 61-year-old Vancouver man, identified by the car club as Des Toups, was reportedly operating a 2023 Hyundai Elantra when the vehicle continued past the finish line for the race and “did not appear to slow or stop,” leaving the course and striking cones before striking a portable toilet and crashing into a building, according to information released by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and the club.
A 50-year-old Meridian, Idaho woman, identified by the car club as Amber Dawn Jorgensen, was inside the portable toilet at the time the vehicle struck it, according to the sheriff’s office.
Both individuals were set to be airlifted to Harborview Medical Center for medical care, but Jorgensen was pronounced dead at a hospital in Morton before the aircraft arrived, according to the sheriff’s office.
Toups was airlifted to Harborview on Sunday, but the King County Medical Examiner later contacted Lewis County deputies to inform them Toups had passed away during surgery, according to the sheriff's office.
The incident was still under investigation as of Tuesday morning.
The remainder of the event was “promptly canceled” after the incident, according to Sports Car Club of America. The Packwood event was called a “ProSolo” event, where drivers race as individuals.
“It’s with an extremely heavy heart that we announce the passing of Amber and Des,” club President and CEO Mike Cobb said in a prepared statement released Tuesday. “These two were pillars of their local Solo communities.”
Jorgensen was a four-year member of the Snake River Region and national chapter of the car club, according to the statement. Jorgensen ran competitively in E Street, leading Snake River Region’s E Street points championship and sitting fourth overall in the Region’s PAX championship. Her husband, Steven, having competed the previous weekend at the Packwood Solo National Tour, was on site at the time of the incident, the organization stated in a news release.
Toups was a 20-year member of the Northwest Region and Sports Car Club of America at large. He was known for competing in a wide variety of vehicles and classes through the years. Among other accomplishments, Toups was a regular at the Solo National Championships, where he competed 14 times and earned two trophies.
“As the (Sports Car Club of America) community begins to process this tragic loss, we are focused on finding a way to provide grief counseling to those who need it,” Cobb stated. “We’re sending our deepest condolences to the families, friends, competitors and fellow region members who will surely feel the effects of this loss.”
