A 28-year-old Spanaway man died early Saturday after his car veered off the road and slammed into a tree near Spanaway Loop Road South and Fair Oaks Drive South, according to authorities. The crash happened at about 4 a.m. on Sept. 12, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man has been identified as Zachary Thorne of Spanaway, according to a listing on the Tacoma News Tribune, which cited the Pierce County Medical Examiner's public portal. The portal listed his cause of death as multiple blunt-force injuries, the paper reported.
A witness on scene told police that Thorne veered off the road before crashing into the tree, per the same report. The Pierce County Sheriff's Office is investigating what caused the collision, though the outlet's report did not include further detail on road conditions, speed, or other factors that may have contributed.
A Familiar Stretch of Road
Spanaway Loop Road has seen other fatal crashes in recent months. A 21-year-old man was struck and killed by a vehicle near Spanaway Loop Road and Military Road on May 15, according to FOX 13 Seattle. That same pedestrian-vehicle collision was also reported by KOMO News, which noted the road was closed following the crash.
Single-vehicle crashes into roadside trees have also turned up elsewhere in the region. In June 2023, a Tacoma man died after driving erratically and crashing into a tree near Grapeview in Mason County, the News Tribune reported at the time.
Investigation Continues
No further details about the cause of the Spanaway crash have been released, and the sheriff's office has not announced findings from its investigation. The circumstances that led Thorne's vehicle to leave the roadway remain unclear.
