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MEMORIAL MAINTAINED TO MAN KILLED ON HIGHWAY 2
Index Woman badly hurt
on Hy 2 remains in serious condition.
March 10, 2010
 Wreath, part of larger memorial on Hy 2 to Bruce Ramsey. SVC staff photo. CLICK TO ENLARGE  Full memorial to Lt. Ramsey on Hy 2. SVC staff photo. CLICK TO ENLARGE
At early sundown as the light began to slowly fade there were fresh flowers placed near the white cross that had been constructed in remembrance of the man who lost his life there. There were freshly lit lanterns burning as well.
Those who loved Bruce Ramsey of Sultan wanted the lanterns to be seen in the twilight and in the dark of a cold winter night in the Sky Valley. It was important that they be seen.
The Ramsey memorial looks as fresh as when it was first installed by friends, family and co-workers in the middle of last month.
It is still tended to as a living monument to Lt. Bruce Ramsey, longtime employee of the Monroe Correctional Complex, who was killed February 17 at the intersection where the town’s MacDonald’s restaurant sits facing Highway 2 -- the corner of Rice Road and U.S. Highway 2.
It was about 3:30 in the afternoon that day, clear and dry, a perfect day for riding a motorcycle. Ramsey was on his motorcycle headed westbound on Highway 2 as he probably had done dozens if not hundreds of times in the past.
But that day was vastly different than any other. As Ramsey approached the Intersection with Rice Road a Honda Sedan, driven by a teenager, abruptly pulled out from Rice Road onto Highway 2 and Ramsey’s motorcycle hit the sedan with considerable force.
Ramsey, badly injured, was going to be airlifted to a Seattle hospital but was pronounced dead before being airlifted.
The car that pulled out from Rice Road was driven by a 16-year old Marysville girl who was not injured in the crash nor was her 17-year-old passenger, a teen from Snohomish.
No citations were issued that day, no one was arrested. The cause was under investigation.
Lt. Ramsey became the 52nd person to die along the “Highway Of Death,” since 1999 along the stretch of U.S. Highway 2 between Snohomish and Stevens Pass. There have also been 108 disabling injuries - or an average of 12 disabling injuries a year - and thousands more non-disabling minor injuries per year since 1999.
INDEX WOMAN REMAINS IN HOSPITAL AFTER CRASH ON HY 2
Highway 2 almost claimed another life Friday evening March 5th. Fifty-two year old Katherine A. Hughes of Index was Eastbound on Highway 2 last Friday at 5:43 p.m. when the car she was driving, a 1996 Ford Taurus, “overcorrected” on the road, veered to the right, struck a guard rail then rammed a power pole near Forest Service Road 62 and came to rest on its side.
It is not yet known what caused Hughes’ car to veer out of control and off the highway.
A spokeswoman at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle told the Chronicle that Hughes remained in serious condition in intensive care.
“She was badly hurt with a lot of injuries,” said Katheryn’s employer and friend Cathy Curnutt during a recent interview. Curnutt and husband Steve own the longtime landmark Index Café which sits at the corner of Highway 2 and the Index-Galena road just outside of Index.
Katheryn has long been employed at the café as a waitress.
“They’ve done a couple surgeries on her that I know of since she’s been in the hospital. Among her injuries are a broken pelvis, broken ribs and a punctured lung. They’re keeping her sedated pretty much in order to do the medical treatments,” added Curnutt.
Curnutt described Hughes, a long time resident of Index, as an active, vital woman who “can do anything.” She gardens, works on her house by the river, lays tile, rides motorcycles. She has three grown daughters who live outside the Sky Valley.
Hughes recently sustained another setback in life. A few months ago her husband passed away unexpectedly.
“She has our prayers everyday and everyone is pulling for her to get well soon,” said Curnutt who added that at some time in the near future the restaurant would hold a benefit event to help Hughes deal with mounting bills.
The state patrol does not believe drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash but the cause remains under investigation.
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