Man who died in crash on Rainier Road on Thursday has been identified

An Olympia man died Thursday after his vehicle left Rainier Road and hit a tree just west of the city of Rainier.

On Friday afternoon, Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock identified the man as Michael D. Gregg, 57, of Olympia. He died of multiple blunt force injuries to the head and torso.

Lt. Mike Brooks with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to the 13500 block of Rainier Road around 2:30 p.m. Aug. 15. He said it was called in to 9-1-1 as a reckless vehicle, but not much more about the circumstances are known.

Brooks said he doesn’t believe speed was a factor, and it’s unclear if there was a medical emergency. He said the driver drifted off the road and when he tried to correct the direction of the vehicle, he lost control and crashed.

A portion of Rainier Road was closed for more than two hours.

This story was originally published August 16, 2024 at 10:17 AM.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

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Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription