Thurston coroner identifies teen, 17, and man, 61, who died in crashes over the weekend

There were two fatal collisions over the weekend in Thurston County. The victims in both situations have been publicly identified, and two arrests have been made.

Jessie Ciara Uch, 17, from Rainier, died after a two-vehicle wreck on Rainier Road on March 4. The driver, an 18-year-old male, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and now faces vehicular assault and vehicular homicide charges.

Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock also identified the man who died after being hit by a vehicle at around 9:30 p.m. March 3 outside Tumwater as 61-year-old Michael J. Maxin.

Warnock didn’t have the details on Maxin’s area of residence.

An arrest was also made in connection to Maxin’s death.

An initial investigation determined the driver knew Maxin and after hitting him, moved Maxin from where it originally happened. The driver was arrested on suspicion of first-degree manslaughter and tampering with physical evidence.

This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 12:28 PM.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

360-357-0201

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