GORST, Wash. -- A driver who rear-ended another car, veered off Highway 3 and then plunged into the waters of Sinclair Inlet near the town of Gorst has died from his injuries.
The Navy says the driver who died was a sailor from the USS Ronald Reagan, Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Roger Hartley, 25, of Georgia.
According to WSP troopers at the scene, a car was traveling at a high rate of speed on Highway 3 when it rear ended another vehicle, spinning it around. The speeding car went through an embankment, into the bushes and careened off the highway, launching into the water and landing some 50-60 feet from the water's edge.
Rescue dive teams managed to pull Hartley from the fully submerged car and performed CPR on him. He was transported to a hospital with critical injuries; he died at the hospital shortly after.
One trooper jumped into the frigid water without a wet suit to pull Hartley out.
"They are heroes," said Trooper Todd Bartolac. "They risk their own lives daily to make sure people in that community are safe. My hats go off to them."
It's not known what caused Hartley to drive out of control.
According to state troopers, a witness in the line of traffic thought they saw a second person sitting in the passenger's seat. Divers scoured the water and did not find any additional people in the water.
Hartley had served as an electrician’s mate on board since reporting in July 2010. He achieved his Enlisted Surface and Aviation Warfare pins on Ronald Reagan’s most recent deployment.
During that deployment, Reagan conducted Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief off the coast of Sendai, Japan following the Mar. 11 earthquake and tsunami.
“It’s a tragedy whenever we lose one of our shipmates and everyone on board is affected,” said Cmdr. Kevin Lenox, Reagan’s executive officer. “Hartley was a stellar Sailor and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this difficult time.”
KING 5's Jake Whittenberg contributed to this report.
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