Local man killed in Brownsville Highway crash

A 66-year-old Poulsbo man was declared dead at the scene of a single vehicle collision Monday, April 7, on Brownsville Highway NE in the Central Kitsap area.

Leonard R. Bentley was driving a 1999 Dodge Ram truck northbound in the 11800 block of Brownsville Highway NE Monday evening and failed to negotiate a curve in the road at the intersection of Brownsville Highway and South Keyport Road NE, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. There were no other occupants in the vehicle.

The truck went off the northbound shoulder of the road, crossed South Keyport Road and then down an approximate 6-foot embankment where the vehicle struck a tree.

Deputy Scott Wilson, KCSO spokesman, said traffic investigators are not sure what caused the single vehicle crash.

“It could have been a variety of things,” he said.

Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies and Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue crews responded to the collision at about 8:30 p.m. and the section of Brownsville Highway remained closed to traffic until 12:30 a.m. while the fatality investigation was underway, according to the sheriff’s office.

Wilson said the sheriff’s office does respond to traffic accidents on Brownsville Highway, but not many collisions occur on the windy stretch of roadway.

“We do have them (accidents on Brownsville Highway), but not as many as you would think,” Wilson said.

The Kitsap County Coroner’s Office said Bentley died of “multiple blunt force injuries to the head, neck and torso.” Traffic investigators do not believe that excessive speed was a factor in the cause of the crash.

The coroner’s office said toxicology results are pending.

Deputies continue to investigate Monday’s accident. Anyone who witnessed the collision or has information about the crash is asked to contact Deputy Dave Fortenbacher, with the sheriff’s traffic unit, at (360) 337-4634.

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