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Remembering Gary Schafte

Washougal man died 11 days after colliding with BNSF train on his way to work

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Gary Schafte (left) attends a Bruce Springsteen concert in 2016 with his daughter, Lacey Bieker (center), and son, Ryan Schafte. (Contributed photos courtesy of Ryan Schafte)

Gary Schafte’s son, Ryan, says his dad loved working. And work was exactly where Schafte, of Washougal, was headed at 6:15 a.m., July 15, when his truck veered off Whitney Street in Washougal and collided with a BNSF freight train.

The train’s engineer performed CPR on Schafte, 55, until paramedics arrived and rushed the 55-year-old Washougal man to PeaceHealth Hospital in Vancouver.

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