SEQUIM — He was the 15th person to die in a vehicle collision on North Olympic Peninsula highways and roads since the start of the year.
But Klaus Steinhorst was not just a number to Sandy Hofer.
He was Dad.
The horrific Monday morning wreck on U.S. Highway 101 near Agnew that ended the life of Steinhorst, 57, added to a growing list of gruesome statistics shining an unwelcome light on the Peninsula.
But it also ripped apart a family.
“I guess I really feel like it’s just senseless,” Hofer said, grasping for words.
“Some guy was in a hurry, and now my dad is dead.”
A Port Angeles man, 31-year-old Gary Gilbeck, was apparently trying to pass a vehicle in the eastbound lane near Shore Road when he collided head-on with Steinhorst’s westbound truck just after 7 a.m.
The impact sent the truck careening off the road, and flipping it over on its side.
Steinhorst was killed instantly, paramedics said.
Gilbeck was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he remained Tuesday in satisfactory condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Steinhorst’s wife, Cathy, is devastated, Hofer said.
“He was her life. I’m not sure what she’ll do now,” she said.