SEQUIM — Mike Haley, the 19-year-old Sequim resident who died in a pickup truck crash Monday, was an exuberant — even hyperactive — young man with infectious energy and an open mind, friends and family members said Tuesday.
“He was always a happy kid,” said Jerrin Fiorini, who befriended Haley in eighth grade.
“He was always bringing everyone up. He just lived every minute.”
“He was a great guy,” said his grandmother, Jean Haley of Sequim.
“He was real well thought of.”
Haley crashed his pickup truck in the 3900 block of Happy Valley Road Monday afternoon.
He was driving north on the road at speeds upward of 80 mph when he missed a 90-degree turn and struck a stand of fir trees, according to reports from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department.
There was no indication that he tried to brake or swerve to avoid the crash, according to sheriff’s reports. He apparently was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle.
Results not available
The results of an autopsy are not yet available, and Detective David Ellefson said it will be at least a week before investigators release any findings about the crash.
“We want to make sure we do a thorough investigation and look at everything we can before we render an opinion,” he said.
“Anything is possible. Even if it’s a remote possibility, we have to rule it out.”
Haley liked cars, his grandmother said, and had recently moved from a part-time to a full-time position at Les Schwab Tire Center in Sequim.
“Mike was a great worker, fun to be around. He had a lot of energy,” said Ron Jones, the store’s manager.
“Young men like that tend to change their minds from time to time, but he’d expressed an interest in sticking with us. He really stepped up and did a good job.”
Voted ‘most-spirited’
Haley graduated in 2004 from Sequim High School, where he was voted “most spirited” and played on the golf team, among other activities — which, according to that year’s yearbook, included winning a Twinkie-eating contest.
“Everybody knew Mike Haley,” said Louanne Collins, who teaches business and psychology classes at the high school.
“Even if they didn’t ‘know’ him, they knew who he was.”
