Green River student dies in car accident

Published 1:58 pm Tuesday, March 1, 2016

A Green River College student died in a car accident last month in Tacoma.

Shane T. Peterson, 21, started classes at Green River last fall and was pursing a bachelor’s degree in business management at the college’s Kent campus.

Peterson of University Place was a passenger in a Mazda sedan driven by Erik Pykkonen on South Mildred Street near South 10th Street at approximately 1:17 a.m. on Feb. 16, when the vehicle lost control and struck an unoccupied recreational vehicle parked on the side of the road, according to the Tacoma Police Department.

Police reported there were no witnesses, but several people heard the crash and responded to help.

Peterson was pronounced dead at the scene, and Pykkonen died later at a hospital, according to police.