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Man identified in fatal head-on crash on I-90

By Peyton Whitely
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

The man who died in a head-on collision along Interstate 90 early Thanksgiving Day has been identified as Jesse Christensen of Bellevue.

Christensen, 29, was a champion swimmer and University of Washington graduate who had just bought a Bellevue condominium and was thriving in his work.

"He was a really good kid," said Leroy Christensen of his son, who died near Preston about 3:45 a.m.

Christensen said he doesn't know why his son came to be traveling in the wrong lanes.

"We're trying to figure that out," he said. "I have no idea what happened."

Christensen's vehicle crashed head-on into a pick-up driven by Anthony Brusco, 36, of Port Orchard, the State Patrol reported.

The collision took place when a 2000 Nissan Xterra driven by Christensen collided with Brusco's 2001 Chevrolet. The Xterra was traveling west in the eastbound lanes of I-90 about 22 miles east of Seattle when the crash took place, according to the State Patrol.

Brusco was in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center today, where he and his family said they both were praying for Christensen's family and also expressing elation over the survival of Gunner, Brusco's missing dog.

"They found his dog," said Brusco's mother, Genevieve Brusco. "His dog was still in his kennel in the back of the truck.

"Isn't that amazing?" she added.

The dog, which was thought to have been thrown from the pickup in the crash may have been knocked unconscious by the impact, she speculated, since he normally "is quite a barker." Her son was going hunting and duck decoys in the back of the truck apparently slid over the kennel and covered it in the crash. It wasn't until a friend went to the truck to take out some items that Gunner was found alive, she said.

"It took them that long to find him," she said.

Christensen's father said his son was born in Provo, Utah, one of six children, and moved with the family to the Port Orchard area 23 years ago. He graduated from South Kitsap High School in 1995, where he was a member of a championship swim team, swimming a 200-yard relay event, and also was an Eagle Scout and member of the tennis club and DECA, a national student business group.

He went on to attend Western Washington University and Tacoma Community College before transferring to the University of Washington, where he received a business degree in 2000. He then worked for an Issaquah mortgage company and most recently had been an investment broker for GE Financial Services, said his father.

He'd been going with the same girl since high school, said his father. "She's taking it pretty hard," he added.

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Bellevue man dies in crash on I-90
2005-11-25
by Morris Malakoff
Journal Reporter

PRESTON -- A Bellevue man was killed on Thanksgiving in an early morning head-on crash on eastbound Interstate 90 east of Issaquah.

The Washington State Patrol received a call at 3:39 a.m. reporting a vehicle traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of the freeway. Less than two minutes later, the report of a collision came.

Dead at the scene was the driver of the errant vehicle, Jesse A. Christiansen, 29, of Bellevue. His 2000 Nissan Exterra collided with a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Anthony J. Brusco, 36, of Port Orchard. Both drivers were wearing seat belts.

According to Washington State Patrol Trooper Kelly Spangler, a television news crew headed to Snoqualmie Pass for an early morning remote broadcast was trailing behind Brusco close enough to witness the incident.

Brusco was transported to Harborview Medical Center where he is in satisfactory condition with a broken arm and heel.

At the time of the collision, Brusco had three Springer Spaniel dogs in the back of the truck. Two were slightly injured and are being treated at Aerowood Animal Hospital in Bellevue. The third, a five-year-old dog named ``Gunner'' was ejected from the truck and has not been located.

Troopers are investigating the cause of the accident pending outcome of an autopsy of the deceased.

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