The Washington State Patrol has identified one of the victims in Friday’s crash north of Brush Prairie as 41-year-old Kristi J. Byars.
The Battle Ground woman was driving northbound Friday on Highway 503 in a 2015 Volkswagen Golf, according to the Washington State Patrol. At about 3:50 p.m., her car crossed over the double yellow center line into the southbound lane north of the Salmon Creek Bridge. She struck Rosa M. Wilson, a 31-year-old Brush Prairie woman, who was driving in her 2007 Honda Odyssey with her three children.
Wilson and Byars both died at the scene, along with Wilson’s 5-year-old daughter, who was identified in a GoFundMe page as Juniper Kate Wilson. Wilson’s two other children, 7-year-old Elliot and 3-year-old Iona, were also in the minivan, and were transported to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland.
Wilson is survived by her husband Brian Wilson, a nurse at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. In a family statement emailed to The Columbian, Rosa was remembered for her love of the color yellow, which reflected her “sunny disposition.”
“Loving Brian, raising her kids, cheering on her siblings, supporting her friends, mastering a skill like knitting or baking, Rosa approached everything with intensity and intentionality,” the family wrote.
The Wilsons’ daughter, Juniper Kate, was described as “an absolute delight” akin to beloved children’s book character Ramona Quimby, “both because she looked the part and was often leading the way to innocent hijinks.”
Both surviving children suffered significant injuries, according to the GoFundMe page. Elliot was awake and talking to his family, and Iona remained sedated and intubated. Both children suffered broken bones and lacerated spleens.
“Both remain in critical care and have more surgeries ahead,” according to the statement. “The emotional recovery feels impossible from this vantage point. But as Brian and Rosa have shown us before, faith is the answer. The outpouring of love and support from the community lifts the burden as we look to the days ahead.”
The page as of Saturday afternoon raised about $42,000 in donations.
It’s unclear if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.
