Second crash within minutes proves fatal for Tacoma woman

The motorist who died Friday after her SUV rolled over on state Route 16 near Gig Harbor has been identified as a 53-year-old Tacoma woman, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Peggy Schierman was driving a 1996 Ford Explorer westbound on the highway around 5:30 p.m. when she apparently veered across lanes and went through a cable barrier.

Her Explorer rolled over several times near the Burnham Drive interchange and stopped in the eastbound lanes. She was declared dead at the scene.

Schierman was involved in another collision only minutes before she died.

Two Gig Harbor police officers had responded to the Olympic Village Shopping Center for a minor collision involving Schierman and another motorist, Sgt. Kelly Busey said.

The other driver accused Schierman of being intoxicated. But when officers gave her a breath test, the test showed she was not intoxicated.

Schierman told the officers that she was just tired, Busey said.

The officers asked her to call someone for a ride, and she responded that she would. The officers left.

"Eight minutes later, she was involved in the accident," Busey said.

The State Patrol is continuing to investigate the fatal accident.