Woman dies rushing to family emergency

SEDRO-WOOLLEY — The tragedy of a Concrete woman's suicide took another heartbreaking turn Monday when her 26-year-old daughter died in a head-on collision while rushing to her mother's side.

Stefanie A. Heggie of Concrete died when she tried to pass a vehicle while driving east on Highway 20 about two miles east of Sedro-Woolley and struck two large trucks coming in the other direction. Neither truck driver was injured in the accident.

The accident left debris scattered across the highway, which was closed for more than five hours as State Patrol detectives investigated the scene.

Part of Heggie's orange 2008 Kia Spectra looked like what a state trooper at the scene called "a crinkled piece of aluminum foil" on the road. Chunks of glass and plastic were strewn on the highway, along with tires ripped from vehicles in the collision.

A 1975 Kenworth flatbed truck, which Heggie struck first, came to rest on its side in the ditch on the north side of the road. The destroyed Kia and a 1992 Freightliner were on the other.

At about 10 a.m. Heggie's 44-year-old mother, of Concrete, was apparently in the Rockport area and sent a text message to a Skagit County sheriff's deputy and acquaintance about her suicidal thoughts, said Chief Criminal Deputy Will Reichardt. The deputy started driving to see her right away, but found her dead when he arrived, Reichardt said.

The deputy and Heggie were in contact, and Heggie knew there had been an emergency involving her mother. But it is unclear if she knew her mother was already dead when she decided to leave work at a coffee stand in Sedro-Woolley, Reichardt said.

The deputy did not tell Heggie her mother had died, but he said it seemed like she knew, Reichardt said.

The deputy told Heggie to stay in Sedro-Woolley. But she was upset and headed out anyway, Reichardt said.

Just after noon, and only two miles out of town heading east, Heggie crossed the centerline to pass another car and collided with the oncoming trucks.

The Skagit County Coroner's Office said an autopsy will be conducted on Heggie.

Jeanette Keller, a neighbor and friend of Heggie's mother — who did not work because she was disabled — said she did not wish to comment on the deaths, but did say, "They were wonderful people."