Runner Killed by Driver at Ragnar Northwest Passage

A Canadian athlete has died after being struck by a driver during the Ragnar Northwest Passage event on Whidbey Island, Washington.

55-year-old Hui Li of Surrey, British Columbia was running an overnight leg during the race on Saturday, July 12th when Li was struck from behind by a pick-up truck, driven by Rosita Naves of Everett, Wash. Li was airlifted to a local hospital, but later died from injuries sustained in the incident.

According to documents from the Washington State Patrol, Li was running southbound on State Route 20 in Oak Harbor, Washington at approximately 3:30 AM.

Li was hit from behind by Naves, who was driving a Dodge Ram 1500. The incident took place in the southbound travel lane, and Washington State Patrol cited the cause of the incident as a “pedestrian violation.” Drugs, alcohol, and speed were not considered to be factors in the collision.

The speed limit on this section of road is 40 MPH. Reviewing the approximate scene on the crash via Google Maps, the shoulder width of this stretch of road is somewhat minimal.

Ragnar, in its rules for the event, requires runners to “use sidewalks or trails, when available” and to obey the rules of the road. Runners at night, defined as between the hours of 8 PM and 6 AM, are also required to wear a reflective vest and headlamps. However, the marked course for this stretch of road had runners running with traffic, instead of against it, with cones marking the course.

An athlete who ran this year’s event said on social media, “I ran this leg of the race around 2AM and it was scary – another runner and I didn’t understand why Ragnar had us running with traffic instead of against it (like they state it (sp) in the safety video).”

The Ragnar Northwest Passage is a 193.5 mile road relay event, taking athletes from the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington and ending in Langley. The race sees athletes run through Bellingham, Burlington, and Deception Pass along the route. Teams have either six or twelve runners to split the mileage up. The Northwest Passage race is one of seven road events Ragnar has, to go along with 16 trail races.

The collision took place around the transition from legs 23 to 24 of the race, out of a total 36 legs.

Ragnar released the following statement this afternoon on social media.

The Ragnar Events team is heartbroken to learn that one of our participants tragically passed away following an incident during the run portion of the Ragnar Road Northwest Passage event. We have been in touch with the family and extend our deepest condolences to them, their teammates, and friends. The weight of this tragedy is deeply felt throughout our organization and the wider running community. We are working with local authorities as they continue their ongoing investigation. We will not be providing further details at this time.