Tukwila fireman dies in motorcycle crash

By Emily Heffter
Seattle Times staff reporter

Jack Stevens Jr. was participating in a charity ride.

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A Tukwila firefighter participating in a charity motorcycle ride died and his 13-year-old grandson was injured in an accident yesterday morning near Stevens Pass.

Jack D. Stevens Jr., 53, of Buckley lost control of his motorcycle after he swerved to avoid a deer, officials said. He was driving east on Highway 2 about 10 miles east of the Stevens Pass Ski Area, near the beginning leg of a law-enforcement charity motorcycle ride, said Trooper Rich Magnussen of the Washington State Patrol. Stevens' motorcycle crashed into a pickup heading in the opposite direction just before 7 a.m., Magnussen said.

Stevens' grandson, Jacob Stevens, of Tukwila, was taken by helicopter to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee. Magnussen said the boy had a broken arm. Family friend Darrell Baskin said the boy was released yesterday.

The driver of the pickup, Tyrie Bivings, 46, of Pasco, was not injured.

Magnussen said there was no evidence that speed, alcohol or drugs were a factor in the accident.

Stevens was a 28-year veteran of the Tukwila Fire Department. His work on a federal search-and-rescue task force took him to the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, as well as the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Other firefighters said yesterday Stevens was committed to making people feel better, whether through his work as a firefighter, through charity work, or by playing good-natured practical jokes on people.

"His whole focus was on his family and helping people out," said Lt. Lavern Peterson. "If you see him, you know, it just kind of makes your day a little better."

"He's a happy-go-lucky guy all the time," said Lt. Loren McFarland, who started in the department three years before Stevens did.

Stevens was riding as part of the Lawman 1000, a 21-year-old annual charity motorcycle ride. Riders were on their way to Lewiston, Idaho, to raise money for the Pediatric Interim Care Center, a Kent program that cares for drug-exposed infants.
 
Riders yesterday decided to continue the two-day ride, reasoning that Stevens would have wanted them to finish.

Stevens had participated in the ride before and worked throughout the year to raise money for the Northwest Burn Foundation and Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Stevens is survived by his wife, Kathryn Stevens; son Bryan Stevens of Spokane; daughters Cheryl Stevens of Seattle and Traci Wilson of Des Moines; and four grandchildren.

"Jack was a friend to everyone in the department," said Tukwila Fire Chief Nick Olivas. "His loss is devastating."

Emily Heffter: 425-783-0624 or eheffter@seattletimes.com

Seattle Times staff reporter Jake Batsell contributed to this article.