Sheriff Paul R. Blankenship

Paul R. Blankenship

Sheriff Blankenship was struck and killed by a vehicle after being involved in a minor traffic accident near Gig Harbor. He and other officers had responded to an earlier accident and Sheriff Blankenship was transporting some of the victims to a hospital. While he was driving up a hill he had trouble shifting and his car rolled back into the vehicle behind him and the bumpers became entangled. When he stepped out of his vehicle another car struck him. He was transported to Providence Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Sheriff Blankenship's brother, Sheriff Daniel Blankenship, was killed in an automobile six years earlier while serving as the Kitsap County Sheriff. Sheriff Paul Blankenship had served as Sheriff for 6 years.