Coroner IDs 2 pedestrians who died in fatal crashes this week
Two male pedestrians who died in fatal crashes this week — one on Littlerock Road near Tumwater and the second on Fones Road in Olympia — have been identified by the Thurston County Coroner’s Office.
Edmund Rauser, 81, of Olympia, died Monday night when he went to check his mail. A driver swerved to avoid Rauser, but it was too late, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Ron Warren, 79, was killed when he was struck by a car about 6:30 a.m. Monday on Fones Road at the Woodland Trail crossing, according to Olympia police.
In both incidents, drivers were not impaired; however, recent stormy weather has limited visibility for drivers and pedestrians. In such conditions, drivers need to slow down and pedestrians need to wear bright or reflective clothing, local law enforcement said this week.
One of Rauser’s children, Eddy, remembered his father Wednesday as kind, giving and hard-working. He had worked in construction, but he also loved to work in the garden and raise fish in a pond on his property.
Eddy said his father was very active. “I’m going to miss him, no doubt about that,” he said.
Warren’s sister, Elizabeth Jones, who lives in Michigan, said Wednesday her brother was the youngest of eight children. He grew up on a farm in Athens, Michigan and had lived in Olympia for 26 years, she said. He had previously worked as an accountant.
“He took his walks every day,” she said about her brother. “He always liked to walk.”
Warren’s friend, Caren Barnes, recalled that Warren tried to walk 10 miles a day, dividing the distance between walks in the morning and evening. He also was fond of a cast iron bell from the family farm.
Barnes said her husband, Thomas McCulley Jr., built a stand for it so that Warren could ring the bell at his Lilly Road apartment. He sometimes called his sister, Elizabeth, and rang the bell for her.
Barnes sent a video of Warren to The Olympian on Wednesday.
“At the end of the video, Ron turns and faces the camera, which is a shot of the Ron we all new and loved,” she said.
Jones said funeral arrangements for Warren have yet to be determined. Eddy Rauser said funeral arrangements for his father are tentatively set toward the end of the month.
This story was originally published December 19, 2018 at 5:02 PM.
